Things To Be Thankful For
by alexatm
Summary: AU. It's Thanksgiving and Olivia Pope is trying to get a crumb cake for he pregnant sister, but the only one left in the store is already sold to no other that President Fitzgerald Grant. They had never met before, he is divorced, she recently started moved to DC and started her firm and it all begins with a chance encounter at a NYC bakery.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: I own nothing, this characters belong to the evil genious Shonda Rhimes and abc. **_**_Carlo's bakery stuff belong to Buddy Valastro.  
_**

_**So I got this idea for a Holiday fic about these two and I couldn't help myself, even though I should be updating another story. This is completely AU, she didn't work on his campaign, he divorced Mellie a few months after he was elected and she recently moved back to DC and started her firm, and destiny brought them together over baked goods.**_

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Olivia Pope was walking out from a meeting with one of her clients who had just moved from DC to Manhattan, she had only started her crisis management firm earlier that year so she was doing everything in her power to make sure she made a great impression on all of her clients, even if it meant traveling on thanksgiving and risking not making it to dinner at her sister's house back in Washington. She had a flight at 5 pm and it was only 2:30 pm at the moment so she figured out she had time to go to Carlo's bakery for one of his famous crumb cakes, which her pregnant sister had a wild craving for.

There was plenty of traffic but she managed to get there, she walked in and surprisingly it was kind of empty, she was about to ask why but she quickly figured it out, the store had barely anything left on it's shelves.

"Excuse me" she approached the person behind the counter, she feared it was a lost cause but wanted to ask anyway, before she continued talking she saw one of the chefs coming in with a freshly baked crumb cake. "Oh, look at that, just what I came in here for"

The employee saw what she was looking at and looked at Olivia apologetically.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but that crumb cake is already sold, it's a special order, we don't have any to sell right now, we got pretty much wiped out earlier, but we are already working on re stocking ourselves for later" she explained to Olivia.

"Seriously! I can't come back later I have a flight at 5, I'm actually taking a pretty big risk being here now, are you sure this person is coming?"

"I'm sorry but we can't sell you that cake, there are other delicious treats you can buy though" She told Olivia.

"No I can't" she paused to look at her name tag "Jane, my sister is pregnant and she's craving crumb cake form here"

"Well you can make an order and it can be shipped to your home, it only takes a couple of days" Jane suggested.

"She's pregnant Jane, you can't tell a pregnant woman to delay her cravings" she insisted and she leaned on the counter to take a look at the ticket placed on the box of the neatly packed cake. "It says there it was supposed to be picked up an hour ago, don't like they loose their reservation?" she said exasperated.

"Well yeah, but it's a very important costumer and they called saying they'll be here soon, I really can't sell it" Jane replied nervously. "Maybe I can see if we could get one shipped to you tomorrow"

"Come on Jane, it's thanksgiving and my sister is expecting me to show up to dinner with her crumb cake, if your client is late anyway why don't you sell me that one and give him one of the new ones you are baking when they finally show up" Olivia was not used to being told no and she was not backing down.

"I'm sorry, but we can't do that with this client, it has to be ready when they come" Jane was really intimidated by Olivia. "Actually…" Jane saw the SUVs pulling up outside and thanked god it would be over, but Olivia interrupted her before she finished her sentence.

"Look Jane, I don't care if it's the President of the United States, they are not here and I am, and I will not fly back to DC empty handed to tell my pregnant sister I couldn't get her crumb cake from Carlo's" Olivia was so wrapped up in her rant that she didn't realize the agents coming in to clear the place, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, the POTUS himself, was right outside, he was on New York city for a meeting and since he was there already he had decided to get a crumb cake from Carlo's because it was his kids favorite. He had decided to go in to see what else he could get, and he found himself deeply puzzled by the woman trying to take his cake.

Jane had gone awfully quiet, she hadn't expected for the President to actually go into the bakery, Olivia looked at her wondering why she wasn't saying anything, and right before she asked, she heard someone clearing his throat behind her.

"Well I usually wouldn't do this, but if it's that important to you I'm sure we can work something out" Fitz said with a smirk. Olivia froze on the spot, she knew that voice, she'd heard it on TV a million times, that was indeed the POTUS. She stood there looking at Jane, for a sign that she had mistaken that voice, but the look on the woman's face told her she was right. She realized she had been quiet for too long and finally gathered the courage to turn around.

"Mr. President, I'm sorry, I had no idea this was yours, I just wanted to exhaust all options to not leave empty handed, I'll just place an order to get one delivered" She said with a smile, trying hard to compose herself, the man was even more handsome than he looked on TV and after she saw him she had a hard time thinking straight.

Fitz had been taken aback by the mysterious woman since he walked inside, her voice, the way she talked and what he was able to see from her backside, but the moment she turned around he was astonished, he thought that was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He locked eyes with her and he could see her blushing, one of his agents, Tom, cleared his throat and he was reminded it was his turn to speak.

"I did hear you saying, you didn't care care if it was mine" he made a quick decision to tease her about her rant. She felt her cheeks get even warmer, and struggled to find the right words.

"That was just the heat of the moment, right Jane" she turned to the young woman again "Could you please place me an order so I can get one delivered" Jane was brought of the shock of the scene she had just witnessed and busied herself finding the papers for the order.

"No I insist Miss…" he waited to know her name.

"Pope, Olivia Pope" She told him coyly.

"I wouldn't want your pregnant sister to be upset Miss Pope, I can share" he smiled at her and she could feel her knees going weak.

"That's not necessary, she'll be fine" Olivia was beyond embarrassed that he had heard her outburst, and even more that he was trying to comply to her wishes.

"Jane right" the young woman was startled, after all it was the President calling her by her first name, she couldn't find her words so she just nodded. "Could you please split that cake in half so Miss Pope doesn't leave this place empty handed" She nodded again and went to find a knife and a couple of new boxes.

"No, Jane just place my order, actually, I can do that online, I should get going I'm going to miss my flight" Olivia started moving but Fitz was right in her way.

"Please, Miss Pope I insist, I can also place an order to get more cake delivered tomorrow and this way neither of us goes home tonihgt without cake" The way he was looking at her, she found her resolve disappearing, and she wasn't about to keep arguing with him so she finally agreed and Jane hurried to pack the two smaller cakes and place both orders, she handed them the boxes and their receipts and they prepared to leave.

"Thank you, Mr. President, you really didn't have to" she smiled at him and he nearly lost it.

"It was my pleasure" he extended his hand and she hesitantly took it, the moment their hands touched, it was like a bolt of electricity passed them through, neither wanted to let go but after a while they both knew they had to. However Fitz wasn't ready to let her go so soon without trying anything.

"Hmm, I heard you are flying back to DC, I could give you a lift to the airport" he offered.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, I'll just take a cab" she was tempted to say yes, just to spend a little more time with him, but she thought it would be i inappropriate and also wanted to put the whole thing behind her and stop thinking about him the way she was at the moment.

"Are you sure? it's thanksgiving, it might be hard to get one, and also I can bypass traffic, I'm guessing your flight is soon" he was not giving up so easily. She thought about it and realized he had a point, the whole ordeal had taken a considerable amount of time, it was past 3:30 and she was in serious risk of missing the flight. She told herself it was rude to decline an offer from the President and told him yes before she had time to change her mind.

She was quiet for most of the ride to the airport, even though the motorcade could ignore traffic rules it was still taking them too long to get there, she was worried she might not make it there. He figured what she was thinking, since she had told him the flight was at 5, at first he felt bad for her missing her flight, but then he saw an opportunity, if they didn't make it he had an excuse to offer her a spot on AF1, after all he was going to DC too.

It was past five when they finally made it to the airport, he could see how anxious she was, she said it was fine and that she was going to find another flight so she could get there even if she was a little late, but she had been trying to get a new reservation for a while and they kept telling her all flights were completely booked.  
"Olivia, can I call you that?" he wasn't sure if he could start using her first name yet

"Yeah it's ok" she replied

"Hmm, you know I'm going to DC too, and I mean I got plenty of space on my plane" She couldn't believe her ears, the President of the United States was offering her a ride on Air Force One. She was speechless for a moment.

"Mr. President, are you… you mean…" she stuttered

"Yes Olivia I am asking you to fly home with me on Air Force One" he said with a smirk.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, I'll just go now and try to get a new flight" She was freaking out.

"It's thanksgiving, everything is booked, and it would be a shame if you didn't make it there after all the trouble you went through to get that cake" She blushed at the mention of the cake, but again he had a point, however she still thought it was inappropriate to offer an almost complete stranger a ride on AF1.

"Yeah, but sir, you don't even know me, like I don't think you are supposed to bring random people aboard Air Force One, what if I was dangerous" she tried to make her point.

"I'm sure you are not, maybe Jane would say otherwise, but I think you are harmless" he said with a chuckle. "Besides I racked my brain figuring out why your name sounded familiar, you do crisis management in DC, you have made quite an impression on some folks, I've heard your firm being mentioned a few times you are quite outstanding, oh and please call me Fitz, or at least don't call me sir, it makes me feel old" Olivia couldn't believe the President had heard of her and her work and even called her outstanding, she blushed ten shades of red.

"I don't think either of those is appropriate" she said to him, she wouldn't even consider using his first name

"Well it's my plane and I am free to bring anyone along with me, and if you think I should make sure you are not a threat I can fix that real fast right Tom" he said the last part a little louder for Tom to hear, and dropped the subject of his first name for the moment.

"Yes sir" the agent replied

"Could you get our boys to run a quick background check on Miss Pope" He asked

"Right away sir" Tom got his phone and made a quick call

"You are free to do as you please, but I insist you accept my offer, it would make my trip home way more pleasant and you would make it to your sister's dinner" They had been at the airport for a few minutes and he could see she was eager to get out of the SUV.

"Sir, she's good to go, not even a speeding ticket" Tom said out loud

"So?" Fitz was looking at her, his bright blue eyes boring right through her, a playful smirk on his face, and she just couldn't say no.

"Ok Mr. President, I will accept your offer, thank you" she finally said

"It's settled then, let get going guys" the agents nodded and the motorcade started moving to go to the hangar.

They got there quite fast, when they came to a stop at the tarmac, the agents got out and opened the doors on both sides of the SUV so they could get out. She was on the opposite side of the plane so when she walked around and finally saw it she nearly fainted. Fitz turned to her extending his arm.

"Ladies first" he motioned for her to walk ahead of him. She wasn't sure she could make a full sentence so she started walking, she reached the stairs and stopped for a moment to take it all in. When she finally made it up to the door she froze, her brain finally catching up with the situation, she stumbled back a little bit and crashed against his chest, Olivia hadn't realized how close he was. He put his hands on the sides of her arms to help her regain her balance, but the contact only made it worse.

"Are you ok?" concern clear in his voice

"Yeah, it's just that this is amazing, I was just a bit shocked that's all" she tried to hide her nervousness, he didn't let go of her arms until she started moving again.

After they had taken their seats, Fitz asked for drinks and snacks to be brought to them. She was quiet just looking at everything, trying to commit to memory every detail of the plane, she was even tempted to take a selfie so her sister would believe her. On the other hand Fitz was doing the same with her, he just couldn't take his eyes off of her, he just wanted to memorize all of her features, to freeze the moment in his head for the inevitable moment in which they would part ways. Eventually she got that very distinct feeling of being watched and turned her face to him, he blushed and looked away, Olivia noticed his reaction and suppressed a smile.

"So… Olivia, hmm… have you been on the crisis management business for long?" he decided to start up conversation, he wanted desperately to know more about her.

"Kind of yeah, I mean I've been in that line of work for a while but I started my own firm this year"

"Well you have made quite an impression in a short time, what made you start you own firm?" he asked her.

"It's a long story" she replied with a small laugh

"Which I will be pleased to hear" she blushed, Fitz smiled at her to encourage her to talk.

"I worked for a big company in the United Kingdom, I lived in London, I was doing really well until they started asking me to cover up for some questionable things, then questionable turned into completely illegal and I refused to do their dirty work, they told me I had to if I wanted to keep my job so naturally I resigned" She took a deep breath, her mind getting a little lost in memory "I missed my family and my home so I figured I might as well move back here, a good friend from the company who also left his job, suggested I start my own business and offered to move here too, I contacted a few old friends from college, and here we are" she had been looking at her hands almost the whole time, when she was done she looked up to find a pair of blue eyes looking at her like she was the most interesting person it the world.

"Wow, you really are impressive" that was all he managed to get out, and this time he didn't stop looking at her even after she noticed him. She was getting uncomfortable with the silence, and the fact that it was The President looking at her like that, so she figured it was her turn to make him talk.

"So, Mr. President, are you also a fan of Carlo's bakery?" she went for the most unimportant topic she could think of.

"My kids are, my parents took them to Carlo's a couple of years ago and they love everything, but their favorite is the crumb cake" a big smile appeared on his lips as he thought about his children, she found it endearing.

They continued the conversation mostly talking about food, she told him about her favorite places in DC and he talked about a few places he missed from California. The conversation flowed easily, and for a moment there it wasn't The President talking to someone he just met, they just felt like two normal people who had known each other for a while just hanging out and enjoying the moment.

Their flight was coming to and end, the captain made the announcement they would be landing soon, he knew he wanted to see her again but wasn't sure how to go about it.

"Can I have your number?" he blurted out without thinking. She panicked a little bit and went onto fixer mode.

"Do you have a crisis that needs fixing?" he was caught off guard by her response, but he played along with it.

"Hmm, yeah I am, you know, I got divorced a few months ago and my image took a huge hit and it seems like my boys at the white house could take some lessons from you" he figured that as long as he kept seeing her it didn't matter if it was for work, it was a start.

She dug inside her purse searching for her business cards, when she found them, she took one out and handed it to him, he took it grazing her fingers in the process and placed it inside his wallet to avoid losing it.

A few minutes later they were descending into the tarmac, Fitz' motorcade was already waiting for him there, and it was then that it hit her, she was not sure how could she get a ride from there to her sister's and she would not allow for him to take her there, after all he had done already, and knowing his kids were waiting for him at the White House. Just as if he could read her thoughts he spoke up.

"I have arranged for a car to take you wherever you need to go" he told her with a smile. The plane had come to a complete stop and she could hear the agents opening the door already, she jus sat there unable to wrap her head around how incredible that man was.

"Thank you, again, you really didn't have to" she finally said. They both got up and went for the exit, they got down and it was moment to say goodbye. He walked her to the car and they stood there quietly for a moment.

"I guess this was my lucky day" she was the one who broke the silence.

"No Miss Pope, it was mine" he opened the door for her, and before she had a chance to move he leaned in and kissed her cheek "Happy Thanksgiving" he said to her and took a step back. Her mind went blank for a moment but then she reminded herself she had to do something so she got in the car.

"Happy Thanksgiving Mr. President" she managed to get out right before he closed the door and walked away.

They parted ways, both unable to stop smiling and looking forward to seeing each other again.

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_**AN2: I hope you guys enjoyed, please review, let me know what you think! :)  
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	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: First of all I just want to thank you all for the response I got for this, seriosuly I didn't see it coming, I am deeply grateful for all the favorites, follows and reviews, you guys all rock. So here is the second chapter finally, I hope to be able to update sooner now that finals are over. I hope you guys enjoy :)**_

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It was monday after thanksgiving and Fitz was holding Olivia's card in front of him, wondering if it was a good time to call already, he just really wanted to see her again. His thoughts were interrupted by a very stressed out chief of staff barging into his office, so he put down the card and pretended to be working.

"Cyrus, what mess brings you here now?" Fitz asked calmly

"Nothing, I just got pissed at the freshest article shaming you for divorcing, seriously, we are doing so much great work in this administration and that's all they focus on" He replied exasperated.

"Why did I not know about that?" Fitz had no idea what Cyrus was so pissed about, he knew he was still getting hate, but he hadn't heard of a recent article.

"Just came out, I told people to not tell you, I just wanted you to focus on your morning meeting" Cyrus told him.

"I can handle it Cy, don't you worry" Fitz knew that what his chance to suggest calling Olivia's team "Also, I've been thinking we should get an external consultant, you know for public image and crisis management, I know this is not precisely a crisis, since it happened months ago but it is still a problem, and the guys here haven't done much to fix it" Fitz waited for Cyrus to consider his idea, but the old man nodded almost immediately.

"I had actually been thinking the same, do you have anyone in mind?" Cyrus had an idea, but he wasn't sure if Fitz would be ok with it.

"I do, yeah, Olivia Pope and Associates, it's a new firm but I've heard great things about them" Fitz was waiting for Cyrus to argue and say they should get a firm with more experience, but instead his eyes went wide with surprise.

"Well this is weird, it's exactly who I had in mind" Cyrus wasn't sure how he got the idea, but was very glad it went that way.

"Really?" Fitz was surprised as well. "I thought you would fight me to get a team with more experience" Cyrus laughed, since he thought the same argument would come from Fitz.

"If it was any other new firm I would have, but I actually know Olivia Pope, she was my student in Law School, If she hadn't been out of the country I would have called her for your campaign" Cyrus explained.

Fitz listened to Cyrus talking about her and thought the world was indeed very small, he decided to withhold the information about meeting her and flying back to DC together, he knew Cyrus would not be so cool about it even if he knew Olivia; Fitz had just met her and Cy would give him the same argument she did for not wanting to travel with him before she finally agreed.

Before Cyrus left the office he told Fitz he would make the call to Olivia's office, but he said he would rather do it himself, saying that he didn't want her to think she just got the job because she knew his chief of staff, he agreed and right after he closed the door, Fitz started dialing the number.

* * *

Olivia was at her office hanging out with Emily, her sister, she spent a lot of time at OPA since the boss was her sister and her husband, Harrison Wright, worked there too; also she had taken a break from her job as an ER nurse when she got pregnant, Harrison was doing well with Olivia and she just wanted to focus on the baby.  
"So… has he called yet?" Emily asked her sister.

"No, and I'm sure it could be a while even if he does, he might have just been trying to be nice" Olivia replied.

"Yeah, I don't think so, a man that after just meeting you, shares his Carlo's crumb cake, gives you a ride to the airport and when you miss your flight, also gives you ride back here on his plane is not just trying to be nice" After Emily heard Olivia's story on thursday she had being insisting the President was interested in her and gushing about how great it would be, Olivia simply rolled her eyes at her and told her to stop making such a big deal out of it.

"Em seriously, you are blowing this out of proportion" Olivia said exasperated

"He did ask for you number" She argued

"Because of work" Olivia argued back.

"If I recall your story correctly, that is not what happened, the man asked for your number and you turned into a work related thing" Emily was not backing down so easily, she just had a gut feeling something good could come out of that meeting. Olivia regretted not changing that part of the story when she told it to her sister.

"Why else would he want my contact information" Olivia also had no intention of giving in.

"You are impossible Olivia, but time will prove me right"

Olivia was about to keep arguing with Emily but her phone started ringing, so she took a breath and went into gladiator more to answer it.

"Olivia Pope and Associates, this is Olivia" she said politely.

"I have to say, I'm really pleased to hear you answer your own phone" Fitz was really happy he didn't have to go through a secretary or assistant to talk to her. Upon hearing his voice she flushed and wasn't sure how to respond, the reaction didn't go unnoticed by Emily, who just squinted her eyes at her.

Olivia didn't want that conversation to happen in front of her sister so she told Fitz to hold on a moment and covered the receiver to tell her it was a client and she needed the room. Emily thought it was weird how Liv reacted when she answered and desperately wanted to know what the call was about, she knew there was a chance it was the President, but decided to do as she was told and find out later.

"I'm sorry, I had to clear my office" she told him.

"Are you busy, because I can call back" Fitz wanted to talk to her but he didn't want her to disturb her work schedule just because he was the President.

"No it's ok, really" she replied immediately. "What can I help you with"

"I want to hire your firm to work on my image" he went straight to the point.

"Oh, wow… that is… I… We would be honored" she stuttered, and he smiled to himself.

"Great then, I will see you here tomorrow at 11 am, there will be pass waiting for you at the gate" He hung up the phone, despite wanting to talk to her more, he didn't want to give her a chance to argue.

Olivia sat back in her chair, a million things going through her head, she was still not sure what had just happened, a part of her thought she was dreaming. She just sat there thinking about the meeting and how she would prepare for it when her sister walked back into the office followed by Harrison, Olivia was just there looking at the ceiling and they exchanged worried looks.

"Everything ok?" Emily asked her. Olivia snapped out of her thoughts and stared briefly at Em, trying to figure out what to tell her. Eventually she realized there was no point lying since she would find out eventually.

"That was the President" Oliva finally said.

"Oh my god! I told you, this is great" She said excitedly

"Wait what" Harrison said confused "What President, you don't meant the President of the United State do you?" Olivia still in shock and Emily lost in excitement they forgot that Harrison didn't know about what happened on thanksgiving.

"Oh but she does" Emily said with a smile, Olivia just looked worried.

Olivia was tempted to let her sister tell the story, but she knew she would twist the story to fit her crazy theories, so she proceeded to explain the whole thing to Harrison. Needless to say he agreed with his wife but dropped the subject after Olivia glared at him. They started talking about a plan for the President so Emily excused herself and let them work; when they were done Olivia asked him to wait until after the meeting before he told the rest of team.

* * *

Olivia tossed and turned almost all night, too anxious to sleep well and the moments she managed to doze off she ended up dreaming about him. She got up earlier than usual and took a shower, then she spent a great deal of time trying to decide on the perfect outfit, she almost emptied her closet in the process and finally decided on a black dress with white laced sleeves, and a white coat, then she straightened her hair and applied make-up.

She could only make herself have a cup of tea for breakfast and she left her apartment in a hurry even though she had plenty of time to get there. The only thing that made her feel better was that she knew Cyrus would probably be there, she hadn't talked to him in a while but she knew he was Chief of Staff. Just like Fitz had said, there was a pass waiting for her, she was told how to get to the west wing, she was about 15 minutes early, so she decided to go tell Fitz' secretary she was already there.

"Excuse Miss, I'm Olivia Pope, I have a meeting with the President at 11, so I just wanted to let you know I'm here already" She explained the lady behind the desk.

"Of course Miss Pope, I was told to let you in as soon as you got here" Olivia got a bit more nervous but did her best to hide it. Lauren got up to take Olivia into the Oval.

"Thank you, also, can I have your name, considering I might be coming here a few more times" Olivia asked politely, she always preferred to use peoples names if it was ok with them.

"It's Lauren" the woman replied with a smile before she opened the door. She thought Olivia was quite nice, most people didn't even bother to look at her, not to even mention the former First Lady who was just plain rude.

Olivia walked slowly inside the Oval Office, for a moment she was to stunned to move past the door, Fitz was sitting at his desk and he seemed to be very concentrated on some papers he was reading, upon realizing that Olivia was not going to interrupt him or move anymore, Lauren cleared her throat. Fitz looked up immediately and was taken aback by the sight in front of him.  
Fitz muttered a thank you to Lauren and she stepped out, closing the door behind her, Olivia was barely inside the office and when she locked eyes with Fitz her brain just stopped trying to make her move. He got up and walked towards her, but stopped a couple of feet away, he had his hands in his pockets, he could see she was uncomfortable and didn't want to make it worse.

"Hi" he finally said.

"Hi" she whispered back to him.

"Hmm, please take a seat" he was forcing his brain back to reality. He motioned to the couch and waited for her to walk there. He took a seat across from her. "It's great to see you again… So did your sister enjoy her cake?" He asked with a smile. Olivia let out a small laugh, she was finally relaxing.

"Yeah, she did, she almost didn't believe me when I told her how I got it" Olivia could still hear her yelling "no way" as they put away food after dinner.

"I think it was what writers would call a meet cute" he said with a flirty tone and she blushed. "So, Olivia, tell me about yourself, I mean I just like to know the people I work with to know I can trust them and we barely got anywhere a few days ago" he said the last part to ease the tension.

"Well, the firm is me, and my best friends from college and law school, Abby Whelan, Stephen Finch, Harrison Wright, who is also married to my sister, Huck Finn who is our tech guy oh and there is a new girl, Quinn Perkins, that Abby got from her previous job, you can have all of them checked" She explained.

"I might have to just for protocol, but if you trust them then I do too" He was quiet for a moment wondering if he would be able to get her to actually talk about herslef, knowing that once Cyrus got there he would loose his chance to talk about anything besides the job. "Do you have any other siblings?"

"Yes, a younger brother" she replied.

"May I ask their names, I don't want to meet them knowing them just as the pregnant sister and the younger brother" he said told her, she tried to ignore the fact that he implied he would meet them at some point.

"Her name is Emily and his name is Gabriel" She wondered if they were going to talk about the job anytime soon.

Fitz had other ideas in mind so he kept asking personal questions, he asked if she always spent the holidays with her sister, so she told him that they usually go to their parents in Vermont, he also asked her more about her friends at the firm and how her friend and sister got together; he also asked how her move to DC had gone and if she liked it there. Finally he told her to fire away if she wanted to know anything about him.

"I already know you have a brother named James, your mom Katherine and well your dad is a pretty famous man himself, also you have two children Jerry and Karen, the media has got you covered Mr. President" Olivia purposely avoided mentioning the ex-wife.

"I guess they do, but I mean they don't know I love four cheese pizza and that my favorite color is blue" he said again, flirting.

"Well, the color does suit you, it matches your eyes" she said before she could stop herself. She worried about the direction their conversation was taking, but she was saved by Cyrus coming into the office.

"Olivia!" he nearly screamed, he got to her and she stood to give him a hug "It's great to see you"

"It's great to see you too Cyrus, I hope you don't give the President much trouble" She said after they broke part. Fitz laughed.

"Just the necessary" Cyrus told them both.

They all sat down again and Cyrus went straight to business, he told her about all the awful things that where said about him, he also told her how the White House had handled it, how they were still handling it. What she already knew is that they barely gave out any information, which is what caused most of the issues, along with the fact that he announced the divorce alone and they first lady was barely seen after that. Olivia needed to know as much as she could but she wasn't sure if it was ok to just ask why they got divorced to the President; but a few moments later it was as if Cyrus read her mind.

"Sir, I think she has to know, like the whole thing" he said to Fitz in a low voice. Fitz never wanted to talk about what happened, but he knew he could trust Olivia.

"Yeah you are right" he took a deep breath "The reason we got divorced is because she cheated on me, repeatedly, and with many people"

Olivia was quiet for a moment, she just didn't understand how could someone cheat on him, she already had a feeling the marriage fell apart because of her, from what she saw it never looked like she really cared for him, so she assumed he got tired of it, not that she had screwed up so damn bad. She started thinking people wouldn't be so harsh on him if they knew, but then it hit her, the reason he kept it under wraps.

"And you said nothing about it to protect your children, even though it destroyed your image, that makes sense" she finally told him, he just nodded, it was nice to see someone understood, Cyrus had begged him to expose Mellie and get it over with.

It was almost time for lunch, so Fitz arranged for food to be brought to them, they would eat while his team put together all the files Olivia had required; she needed everything they had released, also all the surveys and polls they had made, and the articles from the most important media outlets. Since it was actually a few boxes, and it didn't seem right to crowd the Oval Office with it, they were placed in a conference room nearby.

When they were done with lunch Cyrus left for a meeting and she told Fitz she would go get started with the files, and he insisted on going with her, arguing he wanted to be involved with whatever needed to be done, and that work was not heavy at the moment. He had a meeting later in the evening, but until then he was free to spend time with her.

* * *

It was nearing 8 pm so Fitz had to leave for his meeting. Time had passed quite fast for both of them since they didn't just work the entire time, Fitz kept distracting her with anecdotes from the campaign and his first months as President, and she couldn't help enjoying his stories. They also had dinner there, Fitz had ordered Chinese food, she hadn't expected the President to be the kind of guy who just ordered take out, but it was a nice surprise.

Cyrus arrived right after Fitz had gotten up to say goodbye to her, he cursed in his head for the interruption, but he didn't know Cyrus was carrying news that would bring him a great joy.  
"Sir" Cyrus greeted him

"Yeah I know, the meeting, I was just leaving" Fitz said reluctantly

"Right, but that's not it" Cyrus replied

"Then what is it?" Fitz asked confused

"We are snowed in" Cyrus said bitterly

"What!" Both Fitz and Olivia said at the same time.

"I guess we were all to occupied to see, but this huge storm just swooped in, the roads are blocked, most of the staff has already left." He explained "I already told James, we'll just use the usual room"

"Sure, no problem, I'll just ask the staff to get another guest room ready for Olivia" He said trying to hide a smile.

"What" she said again "I can't stay, I have to go, this is not ok" she suddenly regained all the stress she had lost during the afternoon.

"It's unsafe for you to leave, you probably won't even be able to drive, he said the roads are blocked" Fitz said pointing to Cyrus.

"He is right Liv, it's still snowing pretty hard, and I heard it's already past knee deep, that's why I'm staying, it's no big deal" Without knowing, he was being a great help to Fitz, Olivia couldn't deny they both had a point and after hearing it from Cyrus she realized she had to put whatever went through her head about Fitz aside and just stay for her safety.

"I guess you are right" she told them "I'm staying then, I'll just call the office, they were expecting me back there soon" she took her phone and excused herself from the room.

Fitz was already running late for his meeting so he and Cyrus left right after, while he got there he called the residence staff to let them know and asked Cyrus to call James so he could take Olivia with him whenever he was done for the night. After Olivia ended her call she got a text from Fitz telling her to wait for James at the conference room, for a moment she wondered if she had made the right call agreeing to give him her personal phone number after he complained of only having her office number.

Olivia hated to admit it, but after spending so many hours with him, she thought her sister might be right about the President and his attitude towards her. However her logical side was telling her to stop thinking such nonsense, that he could not possibly be interested in her and to not even consider thinking about him that way; but knowing she'd be spending the night so close to him, it would be quite a hard thing to accomplish.

* * *

_**AN: We got snowed in Olitz! So she will be spending a lot more time with him than she thought and it's making her quite nervous, she is totally trying to fight the fact that he is into her and that she feels the same way, there is a reason for her feeling so insecure and it will be explained later. She will get to meet his kids on the next chapter, hopefully they will love her; also Cyrus will find out about the incident in NY so he will begin to get suspicious about Fitz' intentions with Olivia, how do you think he will react? Please let me know what you guys think :)  
**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: Here is chapter 3 (aka the snow day) Olivia gets to know Fitz a little better and there is a small clue about her past, also she gets to meet the kids and hang out with them. I hope you guys enjoy :)**_

* * *

Olivia worked for a little while until James arrived, he got there around 8:30 and they left for the residence, she was feeling quite nervous about it so she was thankful it was James taking here there instead of Fitz. When they got there they found the first children in the living room watching tv.

"Uncle James" the 9-year-old girl exclaimed when she saw James.

"Hey Karen, hey Jerry" he walked to her and gave her a hug.

"Hey uncle James" the 10 year-old boy finally looked away from the tv to give James a hug.

"Are you and uncle Cy staying here because of the snow?" Karen asked him

"We are, and she is too" he said motioning to Olivia "Olivia is an old friend on your uncle Cy and me, and she is working with your dad now" James explained to the kids.

"Hi" Olivia extended her hand to them, she wasn't really sure what to do, and the boy was looking at her funny.

"Is this the girl dad was talking about" he whispered to his sister, but it was loud enough that Olivia and James heard.

"I don't know, ask her last name" Karen whispered just as loud.

"What is your last name?" Jerry asked

"Pope" she kindly answered.

"Its is her!" the little girl exclaimed, and after that they just looked at each other and smiled, Olivia was getting concerned.

"Guys, what do you mean your dad was talking about her?" James inquired.

"They met on thanksgiving cause she wanted to buy crumb cake and ours was the last one" Jerry explained and Olivia's eyes went wide, she couldn't believe he had told his kids the story.

"A little context here" James turned to Olivia.

"Remember I told you my sister is pregnant" James nodded "Well she was craving Carlo's crumb cake and I was in New York for a client, so I went to buy one but they didn't have any, except for an special order that happened to be for the President and he got there while I was trying to buy it" Olivia explained.

"Then dad got her a ride to the airport because there was lots of traffic and she couldn't get a cab" Karen continued.

"And then she lost her flight so dad brought her on Air Force one" Jerry finished the story.

"Huh" was all that James said. Olivia just hoped he could keep it from Cyrus at least for a while.

"Miss Pope, would you like some hot chocolate? we were about to get some" Karen asked her.

"Sure, and you can call me Olivia or Liv" Olivia had expected the kids to be mad or something but they seemed cool so she agreed.  
"What about you uncle James?" She turned to James.

"Not now, thanks" Karen just nodded and ran out of the living room with her brother to find the chef and ask him for the hot cocoa and some cookies.

Olivia stayed there with James and they sat on the couch facing the tv, next to where they kids where when they arrived. She asked him to not tell Cyrus what he heard, since she knew he would not react well, James said he would try as long as he could but to be aware he had a big mouth. The kids came back a little while later with one of the aides behind them carrying a tray with three cups.

When they returned they sat on their spots again, Jerry ended up next to Olivia. The show they had been watching had ended so he said they planned to watch a movie and asked the grown-ups if they wanted to stay. It was nearing 9pm so she asked if it was ok thy were up so late, so Karen just told her it was fine since there would be no school because of the snow, so she agreed to stay. James said he was tired so he left. Surprisingly for her, they wanted to watch home alone, they were a little to young for it so she guessed Fitz had shown it to them. Karen grabbed the remote and looked for the movie on the dvr.

* * *

Time passed quite fast, it was almost 10:30 and the movie was almost over, also she figured Fitz would be back soon. Olivia thought about going to bed already, but then she remembered she had no idea where she was supposed to sleep, and James was gone already so she tried to put her focus back on the movie.

A few minutes later Fitz finally walked in, he had his suit jacket hanging over his shoulder, he was loosening his tie, he seemed tired, and then he just rubbed his neck with his free hand. At that moment she was hit with the sudden realization that she was being witness of this rather private moment; because even thought they were in the White House, that was his home, where he went every night after an exhausting day at work, the place where he didn't have to put on an act for others, maintain an image or watch his every move to make sure people respected him, it was a place where he could just be himself, and she found herself even more drawn to him than she did before.

A few moments later he looked up and found her staring at him, he hadn't been expecting to find her up, so he just stared back. Olivia realized she had been busted staring at him, but for some reason she couldn't understand, she didn't look away and she held his gaze. Fitz gave her a sweet smile and she blushed; but managed to smile back.

She knew something was going on, but before he brain could dwell on it too much, Cyrus walked in rather loudly and interrupted their beautiful moment. Both of them were forced back to reality and he finally saw his kids sitting next to her, awake way past their bedtime.

"Why are you guys still up?" Both kids turned to him, eyes wide as saucers.

"We were just watching a movie with Liv and there is no school tomorrow" Jerry answered quickly. Before Fitz resumed talking to his kids, Cyrus interrupted again.

"Is James down for the night already" He asked Liv.

"Yeah, he went to bed right after we got here" Liv told him.

"Ok, I'm out too, good night everyone" Fitz, Liv, and the kids mumbled goodnights and Fitz went to get the remote.

"Come on dad the movie is almost over, and are you going to interrupt the movie for our guest too?" Karen whined.

"And there is no school tomorrow" Jerry added.

"Our guest is free to keep watching the movie" he said looking at Olivia "But you need to go to bed, school is out tomorrow, but you did get up early today and I don't want you guys to be too tired to go play in the snow tomorrow" That last argument got their attention, and they finally agreed.

Fitz left with the kids, but not before telling Olivia he would be back soon; and it wasn't like she could go anywhere because she still had no idea where to go. She didn't feel it was right to keep watching the movie without the kids so she just sat there checking her e-mails, basically wasting time until he returned. There was nothing interesting until she came across an e-mail from Cyrus that had the article he was angry about the previous day. She started reading, and found herself just as outraged at all the lies that were said about Fitz, she was so focused on it she didn't realize Fitz had returned.

"You know, it's not true, what they say about me" She abruptly turned around, he was standing right behind her leaning on the back of the couch.

"Hmm… Yeah, I know, I mean, I figured" she stammered

"I didn't mean to interrupt the movie for you" he said after being silent for a moment, just looking at her. "You can finish it"

"It's ok, it wouldn't feel right, I rather watch it tomorrow with them" She replied, he smiled at the fact that she planned to stay long enough to finish watching the movie with the kids.

"So they didn't give you any trouble?" he asked

"No, they are great kids" she answered with a smile, she actually thought they were really sweet.

Fitz sighed with relief "And I thank god for that every day" he looked down at his feet for a moment and stepped away from the couch "I was going to get some tea, would you like some?" he finally spoke again.

"Sure" Olivia got up to follow him to the kitchen, and she finally noticed he had changed into pajamas. He was wearing a simple gray t-shirt and flannel pants, and she thought he looked even hotter than usual.

Fitz was walking in front of her and she could see the perfectly shaped muscles of his back, his arms, and before she could stop herself her eyes wandered to his butt, which look great on those pants. She was so distracted she nearly crashed into him when he stopped at the entrance of the kitchen to let her go in first. She chastised herself and started repeating "get it together" in her mind like it was a mantra.

He noticed how she suddenly looked very nervous, but decided to say nothing about it and focus on boiling the water fort the tea. She sat at the kitchen island and avoided looking at him.

"What kind do you like?" She finally snapped out of her thoughts, and looked at him confused "I think we have about any type of tea you can think of" Fitz added and she understood what he had asked.

"Chamomile would be nice" she told him.

"That was exactly my choice, it's a good bedtime tea, its soothing" she just nodded

The tension was palpable in the room so she was desperate to do something to break it, she figured conversation might do the trick. She thought about trivial topics, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that he sounded weird when he said he thanked god that his kids were great, like there was more to it, so going against her better judgement, she asked him about it.

"May I asked why you sounded so… weird, when you said you thanked god for your kids being the way they are?" he turned to look at her and chuckled softy.

"You noticed" he sighed and walked towards her, he sat on a stool next to her. He stayed quiet for a while gathering his thoughts and she patiently waited.

"I kind of dropped the ball as a father for a while" Olivia could see the guilt in his eyes, there was another pause. "I was too occupied with my career to see what was going on right in front of me"

"One day I was in my office, it was at the end of my term as governor I was busy with this campaign, and my kids barged into my office in tears begging me to not let their mother fire their nanny. I told them I'd see what I could do, I talked to Mellie and she had this rage fit about how awful the woman was."

"The stories from Mellie and the kids were so contradicting I realized something was wrong so I talked to her. I can't recall everything she said, but the essence of it was that Mellie was a crappy mother, she neglected the kids. She sounded sincere so I let her keep her job and made a point to pay more attention, and time proved her right"

"I began noticing things, and that's when the fighting started. It also made me realize our marriage had been dead for a while, that we simply had been ignoring each other. I wanted a divorce, but I knew it would be carnage, she would fight me for it, she would try to take the kids and it would destroy my career. I told her to just play her part for the campaign and try to be better for the kids, she wanted to be here so badly that she agreed. I figured that being president I'd have enough power to get rid of her, but really I think I was just being selfish, I wanted this pretty badly too." he moved his hands motioning to what was around him. "So I worked on being there for them even if she wasn't and just pushed through it"

"After I won it was clear it would still be pretty bad, but Jerry came up to me one day and asked why didn't I divorce her, that they would be ok with it because all she did was make us all feel bad all the time… My heart broke for my kids at that moment so I decided to do it no matter the consequences, but then I found out about the cheating, and it became easier. One her boys found out he wasn't the only one she had so he decided to come clean" The kettle whistled loudly and he went to serve the tea.

Olivia was dumbfounded, she hadn't expected him to open up to her like that, she didn't even know how to respond. He returned with two cups of steaming hot tea and placed one in front of her, she muttered a thank you. She was struggling to find the right words, but before she had a chance to say anything, he began talking again.

"When we got together I thought we wanted the same things, I thought I had found the right one, even though I was told I should be careful I didn't listen. My family never liked her, they told me I was rushing into things, but I was so desperate to prove I was being a grown up and settling down to move forward in life, that I ignored everyone"

"Whatever I went through I had it coming for being such and idiot, but I had my kids to think about and can't forgive myself for what I put them through, it wasn't their fault I picked wrong; and for a while there I was as guilty of neglecting them as she was" Fitz looked down, his eyes were beginning to water, the guilt of his past mistakes was weighing down on him, without thinking Olivia reached for his hand, he found the simple gesture quite soothing.

"You have to stop blaming yourself" she finally spoke "You made a mistake, those happen, you trust someone, you think you know them, that you want the same things and then it turns out they were just lying to your face, using you for whatever it is they wanted"

Olivia was speaking from experience, and he noticed, but decided against asking about it. He figured she would tell him if she wanted to. She still didn't feel ready to share about her life so she stopped talking, her hand was still on top of his so she slowly removed it and began sipping her tea. He did the same, they stayed quiet until they were done. Fitz was unsure on what to do next, but then he remembered he still hadn't told her which was her room so he told her he would take her there.

"Thank you for listening to me" he told her as they stood awkwardly outside her door.

"Anytime Mr. President" she answered.

"Seriously, after the conversation we just had I think we are past that, just call me Fitz" he tried again to get her to stop addressing him so formally.

"I still think it's inappropriate" she really didn't think it was a good idea.

"Come on Olivia, I don't like my friends calling me Mr. President" He insisted

"So we are friends" she asked with a tone of surprise.

"Yes… For now" he winked at her and she blushed.

"Cyrus calls you sir" she argued.

"Because if he didn't, he would loose the little respect he has for me, it's his choice not mine" Fitz smiled at her and she was loosing her resolve.

"I will think about it, good night Mr. President" she was about to go into the room, but before she had a chance to move, he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Good night Olivia" She was expecting him to walk away, but he stood there until she went inside the room.

Olivia was willing herself to stop thinking about him to no avail, she just couldn't do it. She went to the bathroom hoping there was a toothbrush for her to use, and found it completely stocked with anything she could possibly need. Then on the bed she found a navy blue t-shirt with the presidential seal on it and a pair of flannel pants similar to the ones he was wearing. She made a mental note to thank him for it in the morning.

She decided to only use the shirt, since it was very large for her, and she got under the covers. All her efforts to think about anything else had gone out the window when she put the shirt on since it smelled like him, so she just gave in to the fact that she would be dreaming about him. Fitz was in his room thinking about her too, wondering if she was wearing his clothes or not; the image of her in his t-shirt was keeping him awake. After a while both of them drifted off to sleep wondering what would happen the next day.

* * *

The kids got up early in the morning, both of them were eager to start the day and go out to play in the snow. They went to wake Fitz and he decided to cook breakfast and have the kids help. The chefs looked concerned that they were taking over the kitchen, and reluctantly left; after not being able to decide between pancakes and waffles they decided to make both. Fitz also decided to make scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages and a fresh fruit salad. He wanted to go all out for his guests, mainly for Olivia, he didn't mind Cyrus and James that much.

When they were almost done, he asked Karen to go get Olivia while He and Jerry prepared the table. Olivia had been up for a few minutes, she had gone to freshen up and she was just coming out of the bathroom when Karen knocked.

"Good morning Liv" the girl said out loud. "Are you up?" Olivia went back to the bathroom to grab the flannel pants and put them on before she went for the door.

"Good, morning Karen" she said as she opened the door "I am up"

"Cool, lets go eat breakfast, we cooked" she grabbed Olivia's hand and dragged her out of the room.

"Who cooked?" Olivia asked

"Me, Jerry, and dad" Karen answered.

Olivia followed the girl into the kitchen, it looked like tornado had gone through it, Fitz was busy putting the food in plates with Jerry's help. He had his shirt all splattered with batter and bacon grease.

"Good morning Mr. President" He turned to look at her and smiled.

"Good morning Olivia" he told her "I think that shirt looks way better on you than it does on me" she blushed.

"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked, ignoring his comment.

"Hmm I guess you can help the kids take the food to the table" He suggested. She went to grab a plate that was next to Jerry and noticed he had batter on his hair and face, she turned to look at Karen and realized she was covered in batter too.

"Mr. President, where are your paper towels?" She asked him.

"There" he said pointing to a spot close to the sink " Why?"

"Your kids have pancake batter all over the face" Fitz laughed and she went to get the paper towels and dampen them on the sink. Then she went back to the kids and had them sit on the stools again to clean their faces. It was a simple gesture, but it was something their own mother never did so he found it endearing.

Fitz told Cyrus to take the day off, and him being his good old grumpy self, declined having breakfast with them and stayed with James in the room, so it was just the four of them. They all had a great time, the kids were very excited about the snow and asked her to come play with them too. Olivia told them she didn't have the right gear, she actually was thinking she had no clothes to change and wanted to go home soon, but Fitz said they had plenty of snow clothes and that she could borrow his, again. She wanted to say no at first, but the kids kept insisting so she gave in.

* * *

Less than two hours later Olivia was standing in her room looking at the pile of winter clothes sitting on the bed. Fitz had been half teasing her about giving her his snow clothes, the White House had an assortment of winter outwear in stock, just in case a guest came unprepared, the snow overalls and Jacket seemed to be her size or close to it; but the rest of it was indeed his clothes. There was a pair of sweatpants, a thermal shirt, a sweatshirt, and a pair of wool socks, all too large for her. After she got dressed she felt ridiculous, but she went out of the room, she had only put on the overalls and she was carrying the Jacket in her hands.

Fitz was in the living room making sure the kids had all their gear, he looked like he had come out of a ski magazine.

"There you are, I forgot to give you these" Fitz handed her a beanie and a pair of gloves.

"Oh God, I can't go out like this" she told Fitz after he and at the kids had started moving.

"What are you talking about?" he asked with concern.

"Seriously, you look like you came out of a ski magazine and I look like a hobo" Fitz broke out laughing at her argument, and she just glared at him.

"You look great I promise" he said after he had calmed down

"I look like a hobo" she said looking down at her attire.

"Maybe, yeah, but a very cute hobo" he said holding back a laugh. "Come on lets go" he put his hand in the small of her back and walked her out of the residence, the kids were running in front of them to excited to walk.

They went outside to a spot where no press could see them, there was a large group of agents with them. Karen insisted they do a snowman first, so they all agreed and worked on it together. Olivia was really enjoying herself, she didn't remember the last time she'd had that much fun, after the snowman the kids made snow angels and Fitz took photos of them, then they just rolled in the snow. Jerry ran over to Fitz after a while and tackled him, Karen ran over to them and both kids started throwing snow at him, Olivia made a quick decision to snap a few photos with her phone and even take a short video, she just thought he might like to have them.

She was peacefully taking the photos when the first snowball hit her, she gave her phone to Tom and asked him to continue taking them, and she went to chase after Jerry. They all chased each other throwing everyone snowballs until Karen had the idea of making it girls vs boys. Each team took the time to build a fort before starting the snowball war again. The kids were having fun like crazy and Fitz also couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed himself so much.

They had been outside for hours when they finally got too cold and hungry and decided to go back inside. All the snowy wet clothes were left behind the minute they were indoors again so Olivia had to walk back all the way to the residence wearing just Fitz' oversized clothes, so naturally he started teasing her about looking like a hobo.

* * *

Fitz had the staff light the fireplace and bring them blankets. He also got the chef to make them hot cocoa and different kinds of muffins. The four of them settled in front of the fireplace with their hot chocolate and freshly baked goods. If anyone saw them, they looked just like a regular family just hanging out after a day out, and Fitz was loving every minute of it.

"Did you like Air Force One?" Jerry asked casually "I thought it was awesome the first time I traveled in it"

"It was indeed pretty cool" Olivia answered

Cyrus had gone into the living room looking for Fitz and froze on the spot when he heard Jerry, at first he thought he might have been mistaken, but then Karen told Olivia she had to take a ride on Marine One TOO, that little word confirmed he heard right the first time.

"Mr. President, may I have a word with you in private" Cyrus said through gritted teeth.

Fitz knew what was coming, he cursed in his head and turned to Olivia, who looked quite a bit worried "I got this" he whispered to her and got up to go with Cyrus. Fitz took him to the library to make sure they weren't heard.

Cyrus demanded and explanation and Fitz patiently told him the whole story about what happened in New York, the crumb cake, the ride airport, the missed flight and the ride to DC on Air Force one. When he was done he looked at Cyrus who seemed to be about to pop and told him to let it out. He started yapping about how irresponsible he was, that yeah it was Olivia but what if it had been a stranger. The old man wouldn't shut up and Fitz just stayed there quiet waiting for him to be done. After a while he realized Fitz wasn't even paying attention to him.

"You don't really care about what I'm saying" Cyrus said trying to stay calm.

"Nope" Fitz answered sincerely

"You are not thinking straight Fitz, this could be a huge mess, just imagine what will be said about you, we got her to try to clean up your image not make it worse what are you trying to accomplish?" Cyrus said getting exasperated again.

"Fine, I am interested in her, my image is in trouble, but I couldn't care less about that, I just wanted to get close to her" Cyrus tried to start talking again but Fitz held his hand up to stop him

"Im not done"

"I intend to get to know her, I intend to woo her until she thinks I'm deserving of going out on a date with her. She is the most incredible woman I have ever met and I'd be an idiot if I let her go; and as someone who has met the absolute definition of the wrong one, I think I know what the right one looks like. I don't know if I'm the right one for her, but I will try my best every day to be worthy of her because I wan't to be happy and have a family with a woman I love and that she loves me back, and I just feel it in my gut that she might be it. So I am thinking straight, I know exactly what I'm doing, I do not give a rats ass what people think, including you and I am not backing down. Does that answer your question?" Fitz had a stern look on his face and it was pretty clear to Cyrus that he would be in trouble if he kept talking, so he just nodded and left the room.

Fitz knew Cyrus very so he was well aware the old man was perfectly capable of going to Olivia and telling her something to scare her off, so he also knew he had to plan very well what he would do next.

* * *

_**AN2: So the kids were cool about Olivia so they will not be an issue, Cyrus wasn't too happy to find out about New York but Fitz set him straight, and will try his best to keep him from scaring Olivia away. Up next we will have the National Christmas three lighting**_ _**lets see how Fitz handles that ;) Do you guys think he should just ask her out or wait a little bit? let me know what you think :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_AN: I am so very sorry I didn't update sooner, I mean the holidays are over, but having to leave town to visit family for almost the entire break gave the worst case of writers block I've ever had and it took me forever to write this. Again, so very sorry, but here it is, I hope you guys enjoy it._**

When Fitz returned from talking with Cyrus, the kids and Olivia were getting ready to finish watching the movie they had started the previous night. Fitz suggested they should watch it again from the beginning because he hadn't been there when they started watching it, he figured that way she would stay with them for longer.  
She ended up leaving the White House after dinner, and took his clothes with her to wash them before returning them to him. She carefully drove home expecting to find quite a few messages on her answering machine from her sister and Abby about her brief disappearance, but she had no idea it was a bit worse. Olivia got out of her car and walked fast to the elevator, trying to avoid being seen, still very self-conscious about her attire. She unlocked her door and nearly had a heart attack finding the lights on and her sister sitting on her couch.

"Emily! What are you doing here?!" Olivia nearly screamed at her sister.

"I just wanted to check if you were coming home tonight" Emily replied calmly

"What are you talking about?" Olivia was trying to play it cool.

"Seriously Olivia just don't, you are wearing men's clothes and I am certain you didn't sleep here last night" Emily stated "After you called Harrison I thought you just came here after your meeting, but then I called you here this morning because you never have any food and since the roads were still blocked I was worried you would be hungry and alone, but I see that was far from the truth"

"Fine, I did spend the night at the White House" Olivia reluctantly admitted "Alone in a guest room" she added before Emily said anything.

"And you are just getting home wearing his clothes" Emily said, doubting her sister's words.

"How are you so sure this are his clothes?" Olivia said trying to distract her

"Aren't they?" Emily replied

"Well yeah but... But, it means nothing, I just needed to wear something appropriate to be outside in the snow" Olivia tried to explain

"Snow?" Emily looked at her in disbelief "You were out in the snow?" Emily couldn't remember the last time Olivia had agreed to play in the snow since they got older.

"His kids insisted and I figured it had been a while so I agreed" Olivia explained

"So you met his kids and just hung out with them" Emily was enjoying teasing her

"Yeah, they live there so I met them last night after I got to the residence and I watched a movie with them while he got there"

"Aww like a family, you waited up with the kids for the husband to come home from work" Emily said in a mock tone.

"Shut up Emily, James went to sleep before he told me which was my room so I waited to ask him" Olivia was getting annoyed because she knew where her sister was going.

"Right, and you couldn't ask anyone from the staff?" Emily said, Olivia struggled to find an excuse "I am so right, he is interested in you and you feel the same way about him!"

"Emily, stop making stuff up, nothing is going on" Olivia really wanted to ignore everything that happened but her sister made it very difficult

"Yeah, then explain the flowers" Emily had gotten up and closer to Liv

"What flowers" Olivia asked confused

"Those" Emily said pointing to Olivia's coffee table, she had been so distracted by the argument with Emily that she hadn't noticed. Emily had found them at the door when she got there. Olivia went for the flowers and looked for the card, she opened and started reading in silence.

"Thank you for an amazing day, looking forward to many more" Emily said out loud as Olivia read. She didn't know what to say so she just went to sit on the couch and her sister did the same.

"Liv all mocking aside I do believe he is interested in you, and I'm sure he would keep his distance if you were not, but that's not the case or is it?" Emily told Olivia in a more serious tone, knowing it was the only way to actually get somewhere.

"Yeah, but why, I mean, he could have anyone and..." Olivia had a hard time grasping that the President had a thing for her.

"Olivia don't sell yourself short ok, any guy would be lucky to have you, just allow yourself to like him" Emily said reassuringly

"But he is the President" Olivia argued.

"So what, that is just his job, not who he is, I've never met him but he seems like a good guy, isn't he?" Emily just wanted Olivia to be happy so she wanted her to see what was in front of her.

"He is good, more than good actually" Olivia had to be honest, and the truth was she thought he was amazing.

Emily made Olivia promise she would think about it and then proceeded to tell her sister all about her day, Emily wanted every little detail and tried her best to not tease her about it so she wouldn't shut her out. A few minutes into the conversation Liv got a text from Fitz saying he hoped she got home safe and wishing her a good night, she texted back thanking him for the flowers and also wished him a good night. Emily had to bite her tongue to not sing Fitz and Liv sitting on a tree.

Olivia did find a few messages from Abby and made a mental note to talk to her soon, also she had to brief the entire team on the assignment. It was almost midnight when Harrison arrived to pick up Emily. Liv finally went to bed allowing her mind to give into thinking about Fitz and what could happen between them.

* * *

The next morning Fitz got up early and happy, he was eagerly waiting for Liv to let him know when she would be coming to the White House again. She had told him she needed to brief her team before meeting again, and that his case didn't seem too hard. He really wanted to get that out of the way, he was confident he didn't need the so called crisis to have her around anymore and at the moment it just felt like it was getting in his way.

Cyrus was still brooding from his argument with Fitz the previous day, and he kept telling himself that anything happening between Fitz and Olivia would be bad news. He thought about his image and Liv's past to have an excuse to ban the relationship. He wanted to talk to Olivia, knowing he could actually get to her, but after Fitz' outburst the previous day he actually feared what might happen if he found out.

Fitz was aware Cyrus had to be up to something, even if he made it look like he would stay away like he was told. He decided he had to make his intentions clear to her before Cyrus had a chance to do anything, and tell her to ignore Cyrus and not care for anything he said. However he was also aware it was easier said than done, whenever he was around her, he felt like his brain stopped functioning properly and he certainly didn't want to say or do something stupid.

After his morning briefing, Fitz went back to his office and decided to text Liv to say good morning, she replied almost immediately telling him good morning too, that she hoped he had a good day at work and a smiley emoji. It was something very simple but it made them both feel giddy, like high schoolers with a crush. Olivia was just getting to her office when she received the text, so she walked in with a huge grin on her face that didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

"Good morning guys" she said happily.

"Good morning" Stephen and Abby replied in a much more serious tone, giving Liv a questioning look and then looking at each other to check if either of then knew anything. Harrison just looked down and smiled to himself.

"Is there anything you want to tell us?" Stephen asked her.

"Actually I do, lets go to the conference room, we have work to do" She went to the kitchen to find Quinn and then asked Stephen to get Huck, all but Harrison were very confused.

"We got a new client, a very important client actually" She started "Quinn, this is the part where we test you as a part of this team, you can't say anything about this client outside of this group" she said turning to Quinn, who just nodded repeatedly. Olivia pulled out a photo from a folder and went to paste it on the wall, when she moved they all got clear visual of who their new client was.

"Bloody Hell" Stephen exclaimed.

"The President?!" Abby said in disbelief.

"Wow" was all Quinn could say.

"This will be interesting" finally came out of Huck who barely ever spoke.

Harrison was the only one to not say anything and not show any surprise, and Abby was the only one who noticed, so while the others were talking about how cool it was she spoke up to question him.

"Why are you not surprised? You already knew right? Why does he get to know before we do?" the last question was directed at Olivia. She didn't want to tell the whole story to everyone, she wanted to talk to Abby alone, so she had to be careful.

"He just happened to be there when I got the call, and I wanted to know what it was all about before I told the rest of you." they were all contempt with her explanation, Abby still eyed her suspiciously, but dropped it for the moment.

"So what did pretty boy do?" Abby had a thing for always thinking the worse.

"Nothing bad Abby calm down, he just wants us to work on his image, it's been doing poorly since his divorce" Olivia explained. "Now, he is not going to make the reason for the divorce public, and it has been a while, so we need to focus on showing all the good he is doing and on how he is as a father. I will see if I can bring someone to the White House or if I have some of the files brought here. In the meantime start working on some strategies" The team started moving to their offices, she told Huck to stay for a bit and Abby that she would to to her later.  
"I need you to do something, but I need you to wait for me to give you the green light, just until this afternoon. I have a bad feeling the former First Lady is up to something. She knows already he won't bring her down publicly and I'm afraid she will try to take advantage of that and do something against him. So I want you to look into her, what she has been doing, or who has she been talking to, but I want to ask the President if it's ok with him" Olivia just thought it was very weird that Mellie had been so quiet for so long, that she hadn't attempted to start her political life yet, so she feared it meant she was plotting against Fitz. Huck was the man to put on that job, but she had to ask Fitz if it was ok with him first.

Huck left for his office and Olivia or her's, she wanted to tell Fitz she was planning on going to the White House later that day, and thought it was more appropriate to call instead of texting him, but really she just wanted to talk to him. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello Olivia" she felt shivers down her spine after hearing his voice.

"Hello Mr. President" her voice was just music to his ears.

"How are you?" he asked her.

"I'm good thanks, how are you?" she replied politely.

"Better now that I'm talking to you" she was quite glad he couldn't see her blushing.

"So… Hmm… I was just calling to… for the meeting later today, I mean if you can" she stammered, trying to get to the reason she made the call.

"You are welcome here anytime, but I'm glad you called, so I make sure I'm free for you" he said with a flirty tone.

"Ok, I was thinking 4pm, and also I wanted to ask you if it was ok if I bring someone else from my firm to check out the files and maybe take some of them for the rest of the team to work at OPA" He figured it was more than ok, he would start meeting her friends and maybe he would get more time with her if someone else was taking care of the work.

"Sure, bring anyone you want, just tell me the names for security clearance" Fitz replied

"I haven't decided yet, how about I text you later" She still had the very difficult task of deciding who would be coming with her.

"I'd prefer if you call, but a text is fine" Olivia blushed, again, but she couldn't help the smile appearing on her lips

She awkwardly ended the phone call and tried to get back to work, she had to finish some stuff for other clients. When it was almost time for lunch she asked Abby if she wanted to order some food and eat in her office so they could talk. Of course Abby agreed, she was desperate to know what was going on. She even told Liv they should start talking while waiting for the food.

"Spill" she told Olivia as soon as she closed the door behind her.

Olivia sat down and started telling her the whole story, since thanksgiving, how they met, that he hired the firm because of his divorce, Abby also said he hadn't really asked her number for work. Then Liv figured it was best to just get it all out and told her she had basically spent the last two days at the White House.

"Well he is the only republican I don't hate so I approve of him" She said to Olivia after she was done telling the story.  
"So you agree with Emily" Realizing they wouldn't allow her to stay in denial, and even though she didn't want to accept it, she knew she would thank them later.

"Yeah, it's clear as water to be honest, now when do I get to meet him?" Abby was curious to meet him, but more than that she wanted to make sure he wasn't going to hurt her friend.

"Seriously Abby? You can't just casually ask to meet the President" Olivia was not sure that was a good idea.

"Well we do work for him, or does he only want to do business with you" she said the last part in a suggestive tone.

"Abby! God you are something else. And yes we all work for him, I guess you can come with me this afternoon, just behave please" Olivia finally decided her first tag along, since Fitz said she could bring anyone, she decided two people were ok.

Their food got there and they just kept talking about Fitz, because Abby wouldn't let the subject drop. Olivia asked her friend for advice on who else should join them to go to the White House, and they agreed to take Stephen since he had more experience with public image, Harrison was more for legal matters and Quinn was the rookie.

Abby wouldn't leave her office so she decided to text Fitz instead of calling him, he replied saying he would take care of it and that he was looking forward to seeing her.

In the time they had before going to the White House they discussed a few ideas for Fitz that revolved around the Holidays. Olivia had gone through the plans for the National Christmas tree lighting and the rest of the holiday events and there wasn't much. She considered it was a perfect opportunity for Fitz to show who he was and they seemed to be wasting it. It was already Thursday, the lighting of the tree was the next day so she just hoped they still had some time to make a few changes and add a few things.

* * *

After 3pm Fitz was barely able to get any work done, he was too distracted thinking of Olivia, but he had to do his best to hide it because Cyrus was there. Fitz was hoping to dismiss Cyrus before Olivia got there and make sure he stayed away the whole time she was there; but then he knew it was out of the question when Cyrus said he wanted to know what they were doing about his image and that he had until 4:30. Fitz didn't want to have a fight with his chief of staff so he decided to go about it a different way.

"Cyrus, remember what we talked about yesterday?" He wanted to remind Cyrus to behave.

"Yes sir I do" Cyrus said through gritted teeth.

"Well I meant what I said, if you say anything to her, you will regret it" Fitz was calm, but serious, he had a stern look on his face and it made Cyrus feel uneasy.

"I know" he replied.

"I just want to make sure you behave later, I don't want to see myself in the need of having you removed from the premises" Fitz was smiling, but he was dead serious and Cyrus knew it, he had never seen his boss that way and it actually made him hesitant to take any action against Fitz' plans.

Fitz moved the conversation back to work like nothing had happened and Cyrus had no choice but to do the same and put the conversation behind him and focus on the task at hand. A few minutes before the clock marked 4pm Lauren knocked on the door to announce the arrival of Olivia. Fitz gave a final deadly look to Cyrus and walked around his desk to be ready to meet her.

As Olivia was walking in Fitz caught glimpse of Stephen's hand in the small of her back leading her inside the office, he felt a pang of jealousy course through him, his smile faded and his jaw clenched. The familiarity between them was making him uncomfortable. Abby was right behind her just taking it all in, trying to asses the situation; she followed Fitz stony gaze fixed on Stephen, he and Olivia were both oblivious to it, wrapped up in their conversation.

When Olivia finally turned to look at him she also noticed the hard expression on his face and looked at him confused, he realized she was looking at him and he turned to look at her. The moment their eyes met his expression instantly softened and he gave her a warm smile. Olivia blamed his previous demeanor on Cyrus and didn't give it much thought, but Fitz was seriously regretting telling her she could bring anyone.

"Profesor Beene!" The tension in the room was broken by Stephens loud greeting to Cyrus.

"It's Chief of Staff now, but you can call me sir" he said with a light growl. "Seriously Olivia, why didn't you bring your brother in law" Stephen had been rather a troublemaker back in law school, and Abby hadn't been much better. "Miss Whelan, you are here too…" he said with dread.

"Cyrus, be nice, they are my team" Olivia chastised him, he just mumbled whatever and she rolled her eyes.

"Mr. President, this is half of my team, and very good friends, Stephen Finch and Abby Whelan" Fitz greeted both of them politely, but gave Stephen an unnecessary extra strong handshake, he felt the slight pain in his hand and wondered what he could have done to anger him; however as much as he was disliking Stephen he recognized he provided a something else for Cyrus to chew on.

"Ok, let's get to work, we need to get this plan started already" Cyrus thought that if they focused on work, it would get in the way of whatever Fitz was planning.

"You are right, so I need Stephen to get a few files from the ones we went through on Tuesday, and We need to discuss a few changes to the holiday plans with the President" She motioned to Abby as she explained to Cyrus.

"Cyrus can go Stephen to get those" Fitz suggested, that way he got rid of both, but he didn't see the flaw in his plan.

"Yeah but neither of us know exactly what she needs" Cyrus replied.

"How about I go with you to tell you what to look for, then you work on making a list on all the stuff we don't need to repeat and I come back here for the more pressing matters" Olivia suggested, and it made Fitz feel better, she would go with Stephen but only briefly. "So Abby please behave while I return" she added. Abby knew that was her chance to talk to him and just nodded at her friend.

Cyrus grunted his agreement, realizing he was being left out, but as hard is was to accept he was happy Abby was there so Fitz and Olivia wouldn't be alone. They made a beeline out of the Oval, leaving Abby with the President. He invited her to sit on one of the sofas and he sat opposite to her.

"So you are one of Olivia's best friends" Abby nodded

"So you are the guy who wants to get in her pants" Fitz just looked at her in shock.

"Excuse me" Fitz said not believing the nerve of the woman. "How did you even reach that conclusion? You met me 5 minutes ago!"

"So you are not interested in her?" Abby asked him

"Well yeah I am, but I'm not trying to get in her pants, my intentions with her are honest, I really like her so I want to get to know her and court her properly, I', quite serious about her." He told Abby with confidence.

"Ok, I was just testing you, and I guess you passed" Fitz looked at her like she had grown another head.

"First, you didn't have me arrested, and second, you sound trustable, but just know that if you hurt her, the secret service won't be able to protect you from me" Fitz nodded, actually feeling a bit afraid of her.

"I swear, I would never do anything to hurt her" Fitz assured Abby. "Just calm down please"

"Look, I'm just very protective of her, experience requires me too" she explained, leaving Fitz wondering if he should be looking for an ex to punch in the face.

"Moving on, how did you find out, did she say something? Or do I show it so much?" He wanted to know how Olivia felt.

"A bit of both, she told me all that happened since thanksgiving and she just looked so giddy and excited, and considering all your actions, yeah you show it that much" Fitz was about to respond but she interrupted him "Also you were giving poor Stephen a murderous look when we got here, but please leave the guy alone, he is like a brother to Liv, nothing more"

Hearing Abby, he felt a bit ashamed for his actions, and decided to try his best to be nicer to Stephen in the Future. He used the time to find out more things about Olivia, Abby told him she did like roses but that she also loved carnations, jasmines and gardenias. Fitz asked about her favorite food, and her friend said she loved Italian, but that cheese and spinach ravioli and lasagna in any type were her favorites. Abby also said her friend had a sweet tooth, which he already knew.

He was also told that even though she liked romance she wasn't a big fan of exaggerated grand gestures, that she liked simpler things. Fitz took the advice with pleasure, finding it very useful for future planning. Right before Olivia returned, Abby hurriedly mentioned a few things about his public image strategy.

"Did she behave Mr. President?" he asked Fitz about Abby and he smiled.

"Yeah she was ok"

"I was just talking to him about how lame are the current Holiday plans" Olivia glared at Abby.

"They are not lame, they are just missing something" she told Fitz.

"No it's true they are lame, but I have been very busy and the staff has no idea what to do without a First Lady here" His team had simply cut out all the things the First Lady does, leaving barely anything.

"I figured, but I think you are perfectly capable of doing many of those things, and that's what we want to show people" Olivia began to explain. "My first suggestion is for tomorrow" Olivia proceeded to tell him about her plan. She wanted him to do the reading of "A visit from St. Nicholas" besides doing his speech. She knew there were children invited to the event. That was fairly simple, she knew he would say yes, but the second part of her plan included the First Children.

"I know you don't want to showcase your kids or use them in any way, but they are your kids and it gives the wrong impression that you leave them out of everything" she began with caution, when he didn't refuse right away she took her cue to continue "I was thinking maybe they could do the reading with you" she finally said "Only if they want to, of course"

He sat there quiet for a while thinking about her plan, what she said wasn't totally crazy and maybe the kids would actually like it, but he was still unsure about involving them.

"Don't think of it as a strategy, it's just that there is nothing wrong with including your children in things you do every once in a while. You guys might enjoy it, aside from the fact that it will help your image" She made her case and really hoped he didn't get mad, she was well aware of how protective he was of his kids.

"I guess it doesn't sound that bad, and the theme of this holidays is family, not that it has worked so well" Fitz said reluctantly. He had been in charge of doing all the Holiday decisions the First Lady is supposed to do, but really he delegated to a lot of people, because he was busy running the country so people were quite unimpressed by the White House holidays that year. "I'll just call them in so we can figure this out.

Olivia waited patiently for Fitz to call the residence and ask the nanny to bring the kids down to the Oval. When he was done she continued with her suggestions.

"I saw they canceled the reading at the Children's National Medical Center, that is a very old tradition and I think you should do it" She really believed he could make some space in his agenda and it would make a huge difference.

"God I hadn't realized they had canceled that" Fitz knew the tradition, but it didn't cross his mind it was canceled because he didn't have a First Lady, he realized he needed to have a conversation with his staff and ask them to stop canceling everything before asking if he could do it.

"There is also this thing sometimes is done with kids from different organizations, they come here to decorate cookies and well also eat them" Abby added "Maybe you can do that too"

"Yeah I can definitely make time for those, I will work something out with Cyrus" Fitz found her ideas quite good and he thought people might actually stop hating him. "Is there anything else I could do that was canceled because im divorced?" He asked Olivia

"There are a few, but I don't know how much can be done now, because it would be very short notice, but I think you could greet a couple of choir groups too, and we need to make sure all the parties and open houses are a success." Fitz nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later Karen and Jerry walked into the room, they were excited to find out why Fitz had asked them to come to his office in the middle of a work day, they always wanted to spend more time with him.

"Hey dad" Jerry greeted him. Karen went up to him to give him a hug.

"Hey guys" Fitz said after he kissed their cheeks "I wanted to ask you something" he went to sit on the couch with them.

"You remember the poem 'Twas the night before Christmas?" Fitz asked them

"Yeah I love it" Karen replied and Jerry nodded.  
"Well I wanted to ask if you guys would like to read it with me at the Christmas tree lighting tomorrow"

"That would be so cool, can I get a new dress?" Karen replied excited

"Yeah it would be pretty cool" Jerry added "Will you practice the reading with us, cause there will be a lot of people watching so we have to say it right"

"I'm not sure there's time to go shopping today, but I will see if I can work something out, also you might want to get a new coat because it will be very cold and yes of course I will practice with you"

The kids then turned to Olivia and greeted her warmly, they asked if she would be joining them for the tree event the next day, and she said she would probably be at her office or there at the White House seeing polls and doing work stuff. Fitz had other plans, he had decided to save her a spot right where his family is supposed to be seated and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Fitz excused himself to go see if the kids could be taken somewhere to get new clothes that afternoon and the stayed with Olivia and Abby. She introduced them to her Abby and, and then they just talked to Liv, asking when she would hang out with them again at the residence and when she would take a ride on Marine one. Abby just gave Liv funny looks about her interaction with his kids.

When he returned he told them to go finish their homework fast so they could go out, he told Jerry he could also get a new outfit, he said he didn't mind but Karen was very excited. The kids said goodbye to everyone and left them to keep working. Olivia needed to discuss what she wanted Huck to do, but she wasn't sure Abby could be there so she asked her to go check on Stephen. When they were finally alone she hesitantly brought up the issue.

"Mr. President, hmm… there is something I wanted to discuss with you" Fitz looked at her and began getting worried.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Not really, it's just a delicate subject, it's about your ex-wife" Fitz nodded understanding why she was going around the point.

"Ok, just tell me what is it?" he encouraged Olivia.

"I want to have one of my guys look into her deeply. She has been to quiet since she left and I have a bad feeling about it. From what you told me, I thought she'd want to start her political career or do something, but she hasn't. That leaves me thinking she has something planned against you, knowing you won't use what you have against her publicly" Olivia explained her concerns, and he thought it made perfect sense.

"You are absolutely right, it hadn't even crossed my mind, but that sounds like her" Fitz said with dread. "Do whatever you think it's needed, I trust you"

"We got this" she said to him and smiled reassuringly, then she got her phone out to text Huck he had the clear. Fitz waited while she texted Huck, knowing it was his chance to ask about the tree lighting.

"Since we are alone, I wanted to ask you something" He began "I want you to come to the tree lighting tomorrow, as my guest"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, I mean, I should be working, seeing how people are taking it and everything" she tried to get out of it.

"I'm sure your team can do it just fine" he got up and went to sit next to her "Please, I really want you to be there, it would mean a lot to me" he grabbed her hand and gazed into her eyes. She not only lost her will to say no, she also lost her ability to think or move.

"Ok" she said barely above a whisper.

"Thank you" me whispered back.

Fitz was still holding her hand and sitting really close to her when Abby came back in the room with Stephen in tow, they looked at them and she smiled. Stephen turned to give Abby a questioning look and she just nodded.

"Is that why he tried to break my hand?" Stephen asked Abby in a low voice and she nodded again. Then she cleared her throat loudly and made them both jump. Olivia wanted to move away, but she was at the end of the couch and he wasn't moving.

"You got all you need?" She asked Stephen awkwardly.

"Yeah, I got it" he said suppressing a smile.

"You know what, I think we should go work on some statements, and plan a couple of interviews and you guys can work on redoing the script for the christmas message video" Abby suggested, gaining a glare from Liv and a thankful smile from Fitz.

"That is a great idea, you can use the same conference room where Stephen was working" Fitz told them.

"Ok, lets go" Abby grabbed Stephen's arm and led him out of the room leaving Fitz alone with Liv.

* * *

They did work on the script for a while, but then the conversation began diverting and they ended up talking about christmas traditions. Both of them were enjoying their time together, simply getting to know each other better. Olivia told him that her family had been doing a christmas song karaoke on christmas day for quite sometime and that she love it because it gave them a bunch of fun memories. She was laughing heartily telling him about the time her siblings fought over a song and knocked down the tree; he thought she sounded like an angel.

Fitz told her that when he was young his family barely ever stayed home for the holidays or with more family, that they usually just traveled somewhere snowy because his mom loved it. It was nearing 6:30 pm and Olivia said it was time for her to leave so he could get back to work. He didn't want her to go, he didn't care if he had to work extra late if meant she would stay for longer, but then she reminded him he had to go practice the reading with his kids.

"I had a great time today Olivia" He said as they stood up.

"I did too Mr. President" she replied with a smile.

"Could we please drop the 'Mr. President'" He took one of her hands and got closer to her.

"I don't think so" she answered nervously.

"Please" He pleaded, his eyes boring right through her.

"I will think about it" it was the second time she told him that, he figured it was better not to push her and he nodded.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow Miss Pope" he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

Olivia walked away in daze, she barely registered when he asked her to say goodbye to her friends for him. She willed her brain back to reality as she walked to find her friends, she told them to pack what they needed fast so they could leave, and they shared a laugh when they saw her stare into nothing as she waited for them. As was expected they teased her the entire ride back to the office and only agreed to stop when Quinn was present, because she was still earning their trust.

* * *

Fitz went up to the residence at 7, the kids were having dinner a bit later than usual because they had gone out so he was able to join them. After eating they went to take a shower and returned eager to hang out with their dad. First they split the story in three and decided what each of them would read, Fitz had printed three copies and they highlighted their parts. He had to admit the whole plan had turned out better than he expected, whatever happened the next day or with his image, he'd had a great time with them, and for that it was worth it.

He went back to work after he put the kids to bed, and he didn't care, he wouldn't even mind if he had to spend all night working if it was for spending time with Olivia or his children. For the first time a very long time he felt good about life, and even his parenting had been positively impacted and it was all thanks to her. When he finally went to bed he fell asleep making plans for asking her out and feeling better than ever.

After spending the afternoon with Fitz, Olivia decided to take on her sisters advice and allow herself to like him, to be excited about being close to him and just look forward to the next time they would meet; even if she still had trouble believing he wanted her of all people. She went to bed thinking of him, as it was now usual.


	5. Chapter 5

**_AN: So... finally chapter 5, hope you guys enjoy please review :)_**

* * *

Olivia got up the next morning to a text from Fitz wishing her a good morning, she texted right back with a similar message. That simple gesture made the beginning of the day a whole lot better for both of them. She called Huck to get to the office early to discuss his early findings on Mellie's activities. So far it seemed she had found the sponsorship of the rich and evil lobbyist Hollis Doyle, but he was still yet to find out what was she going after.

If Mellie was plotting anything that would directly affect Fitz they needed to make a plan to stop her, but if she had just got Hollis for her political aspirations then they would stay away and just keep an eye on her. Olivia just hoped Fitz didn't ask details of how Huck got the information, because she was well aware that some things he did were illegal.

When Abby got to the office Olivia called her in to talk to her about not working that afternoon. She wanted Abby to be at the White House leading the team, they had to monitor the stats from the streaming, the social media, whatever they said on tv about it, and check the polls. Abby of course made a big deal about her going as a guest before finally accepting taking responsibility for all the work. She would take Stephen again just to spite Cyrus, and also Quinn, leaving Harrison to hold the fort at the office. Huck was left out of that, per Olivia's request, simply saying that he was on something else.

The rest of the morning went by in a rush, Fitz had said he needed her at the White house at 3pm, so she left her office before 1pm so she would have barely enough time to get ready. When she was pulling into her parking lot, she got a text from Fitz saying the car would be there at 2:30 to pick her up, she was shocked to say the least, which made her call him before she realized what she was doing.

"What do you mean the car will be here to pick me up at 2:30?" She asked as soon as he picked up.

"No hi, hello, how are you?" he answered nonchalantly

"Hi, hello, how are you, now what did you mean with that text?" She asked again.

"I thought it was pretty clear, I think it's enough time to be here at three" he replied

"l… yeah that part was clear, but why, I mean you didn't tell me, we didn't discuss that" she stammered.

"Oh didn't I?" he said casually "My bad, but seriously did you think I was just going to have you drive yourself after I asked you to come to the event as my guest?"

"I guess I did" she answered after a few seconds of trying to think of an argument.

"Well, as much as I love talking to you, I must go supervise showering and readying of my two young ones, so is everything ok?"

"Yes, I will see you later" she knew there was no point to argue.

"I can't wait, goodbye" he hung up the phone with a huge smile on his face, feeling so good not even Cyrus could spoil his mood.

Fitz had the kids picked up from school early so they had time to get ready, he left for the residence right after his call with Olivia because they were already home. He would help them and then he had to get ready too so they had time for more practice before it was time to leave.

* * *

Olivia arrived at the White House shortly before 3pm, and she was lead straight to the residence. She walked inside and found Fitz in the living room struggling to fix Karen's hair, she smiled at the sight and stood there quiet for a moment just looking at him. Fitz and Jerry were wearing navy blue coats and matching dark red scarfs, Karen was wearing a coat the same color as the scarfs and a hers was navy blue. She thought they looked absolutely adorable.

"Hi guys" she decided to greet all of them.

"Hi" Fitz had to fight the urge to go to her since he had his daughters hair in his hands.

"Do you need help?" Fitz was doubtful, but Karen answered for him.

"Yes please, dad has no idea what he is doing" she turned to look at him "I know you tried dad, it's ok" Fitz moved and allowed Olivia to step in.

"Would you like a braided hairband?" Olivia asked her

"Oh yeah that sounds cool" Karen answered.

Olivia worked effortlessly of Karen's hair, she thought it was sweet Fitz tried to do it even though they had people hired for that. They left a bit after 3:30, Fitz managed to sit next to her in the limo and the kids were seated one next to each of them. Fitz couldn't even begin to describe the way he was feeling, it further confirmed what he already knew he wanted; Olivia was the woman for him and he would do whatever it took for them to become a family.

"You look beautiful" he whispered in Olivia's ear making her shiver. They had spent most of the ride in silence, just listening to the children ramble about their excitement. He knew once they got to the park, there wouldn't be much time for them to be at peace together.

Olivia turned to face him, and gasped when she realized he hadn't moved. Their faces were almost touching. She struggled to form the sentence in her head before answering. "You don't look bad yourself Mr. President"

Fitz was lost in her eyes, all he could think about was kissing her. The world had faded around them, neither of them moved. She knew that wasn't the time or place, but she had lost the ability to think clearly. Karen and Jerry had gone quiet, they were looking at them and giggling but they didn't notice. Fitz was about to kiss her and there was a knock on the door, they had arrived at their destination.

Olivia was shaken back to reality by the sound, she moved away from him abruptly and bumped into Jerry. It was that moment it hit her that the kids had been watching and she blushed 10 shades of red. She turned too look at Fitz who was just as red and he gave her a sheepish grin. There was another knock on the door and they got out of the limo.

They were led to the place were Fitz was supposed to wait until the ceremony started. The staff was going over the last details, explaining everything they would be doing. Time passed by pretty fast and in the blink of an eye it was a quarter to 5 and Olivia had to go take her seat.

* * *

Fitz stood there with Karen and Jerry and the three of them did the countdown together for him to light the tree. After the lighting they would be reading the poem so when they were done the kids would take their seats before he did the speech. People seemed quite shocked when everything was set up for it, everyone had assumed there would be no reading, and they were even more shocked to see the three of them come out and take a seat in front of the kids they had invited.

He had wanted one of them to start the reading and Karen was more comfortable doing it, Jerry would continue and then Fitz. They decided to keep doing the reading in that order, each of them doing a verse. Karen sat up straight and looked at her dad for a bit of encouragement before she began.

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house  
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,  
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there." Karen read with confidence.

"The children were nestled all snug in their beds,  
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.  
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,  
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap." Jerry continued

"When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,  
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.  
Away to the window I flew like a flash,  
tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash." It was finally Fitz' turn to read and the audience was completely captivated.

In the order they read the verses it was Fitz who finished the poem and that just wrapped it up beautifully, everyone loved it. After they started suddenly the numbers went up on the streaming and it was all over social networks. He was happy, the kids were happy and the country was happy so the whole thing had been a total success. He left the stage after a loud round of applause and then everything was set for his speech.

The speech that was originally written for Fitz to say at the ceremony completely ignored the problems and rejection he had been facing since the divorce. It talked a lot about family in a way that it sounded like Fitz was pretending nothing had happened, almost like he was mocking what was said about him. Olivia knew it wouldn't be taken well so she made a few changes to it.

In the new version he did talk about it, instead of just sweeping it under the rug, Olivia thought it was far better for him to acknowledge the issues with his reputation and all the distrust people felt towards him and his commitment to family. It was risky to bring it up on that particular event, but she knew it could be much worse if he didn't. Fitz delivered a speech in which he said he knew how his situation looked, but explained that he only wanted what was best for his family. The purpose was to communicate that sometimes is better to part ways and that all types of families are valid, that him being divorced shouldn't diminish his family status.

Abby was going over social media response and things seemed to be looking up, other divorcees were showing support saying it was true staying together could end up being worse for everyone involved and expressed gratitude on him saying there's not only one right way to have a family. The views on the streaming had actually gone up when he started talking about his issues so they were doing well.

Fitz kept glancing at her all through the speech and she was concerned someone would notice, but he didn't seem to care, he just couldn't help but stare at the woman who had stole his heart and made him a better man in such a short amount of time. Much to her relief no one gave much thought to her being there sitting next to his kids because James was there too and people just assumed she was there for work.

* * *

After everything was over they went back to the White House, on the way there Fitz and the kids insisted she stayed to have dinner with them, she was having such a good time, she said yes without giving it much thought. Olivia figured that if she was allowing herself to like him and entertaining the possibility of something happening between them, she had to stop trying to run or resist him.

They were all quite hungry so they went straight to the dining room after they arrived at the residence. Fitz had asked the chef to prepare lasagne bolognese since he had already planned to invite her for dinner and it worked great for everyone because Karen and Jerry loved it too. The food was served promptly and Olivia eyed him suspiciously when she saw what the were having.

"This is one of my favorite dishes" she told Fitz after she got her plate.

"Oh really, good to know" he replied supressing a smile.

Olivia took her first bite and realized it had been prepared with both mozzarella and cream cheese just how she liked it and she eyed him suspiciously, realizing maybe he knew more than she thought.

"Did you talk to Abby about anything other than work?" she asked him while still eyeing him suspiciously.

"Maybe…" he said failing to stop himself from smiling.

"Very sneaky Mr. President" she told him in a flirty tone. For a moment they were again oblivious to the children watching them.

"Why do keep calling him Mr. President" Karen asked innocently, shaking Olivia out of her daze.

"Because he is the President so it woubld be inappropriate not to do it" Olivia answered politely, trying to hide her nervousness.

"But you guys are friends" Jerry countered "right?"

"Yeah… we are friends" she admitted.

"So why don't you call him Fitz, his friends call him that, and it sounds weird that you keep calling him Mr. President." Karen told her

She blushed and Fitz just smiled, he mentally thanked his kids for bringing it up, that way he thought it was more likely for her to agree. Olivia turned to look at him for help, but she already knew that was a lost cause, he just gave her his most charming smile which made her cheeks burn up even more.

"I guess you guys have a point" she finally told the kids

"What do you think dad?" Jerry asked Fitz

"I think she can call me whatever she wants, but yeah I would very much like it if she called me Fitz" The three of them were looking at her expectantly, he just hoped he wasn't pushing it too much.

"Well then it's settled I shall call you Fitz now" she said to him at last. He gasped upon finally hearing his name come out of her lips, at that moment he felt like his heart was bursting with joy.

The children went back to their meals like nothing had happened and Olivia followed suit, she and Fitz just continued eating attempting not to dwell on the significance of what had just happened. After a few minutes of awkward glances and quiet eating, everything eased back to normal. Before they knew it it was time for dessert and a box from Carlo's was brought in.

"My chef was a bit offended by this, but I heard Carlo's has the best cannoli" he explained.

"Abby has a big mouth" she said with a chuckle.

"These are so good, remember we had this with grandma and grandpa?" Jerry said to Karen, who just nodded eagerly.

"Can we eat them now?" Karen asked Fitz, who had again gotten distracted with Liv

"Sure, yeah, lets dig in" he told his daughter while thinking he had to exercise some self-control and not forget his kids were there too.

The rest of the meal was uneventful, after they were all done with dessert it was time for Karen and Jerry to go to bed, Fitz sent them to get ready and after a few minutes he excused himself to go tuck them in. He and Liv had moved to the living room so she just sat there enjoying the fireplace while he returned, her logical side was telling her it was getting late and she should leave, but she had decided to ignore it and do what she really wanted.

* * *

Fitz returned from putting the kids to bed he brought a bottle of red wine and suggested they drink to celebrate the success of the evening. She loved red wine so she didn't even try to talk herself out of staying. After toasting to the wonderful evening they just sat there in comfortable silence sipping the wine and enjoying the company.

"Thanks for helping me with Karen" It was Fitz who broke the silence.

"It was my pleasure" Liv turned to him and gave him a warm smile.

"I'd like to say it was my idea, but after I combed through Jerry's hair she asked me if I could fix her hair too and I how could I say no, but I really had no idea what I was doing so thank you, I guess I will be looking up youtube tutorials later tonight"

"I could teach you" Olivia volunteered, sometimes it just amazed her how when it came to Fitz she just didn't think things twice or worry about everything that could go wrong.

"I'd love that, but you would have to come here more often" he said in a mock serious tone.

"I guess you are right" she really didn't mind seeing him more often and neither did him.

They talked for a little while longer and eventually the bottle was empty and she took it as her cue to leave. Just as she was getting up to start saying goodbye it suddenly hit her she had left his clothes at her apartment.

"Oh god I totally forgot to bring your clothes" she exclaimed

"That's alright, I honestly think you should keep 'em, they look way better on you than they do on me" he said trying ease her worry.

"I don't think so, I will bring them tomorrow"

"So you are coming here tomorrow?"

"I was planning to drop by and check on things before you leave for the children's hospital" she felt like she needed to clear it was for work, but she changed her mind a bit along the way "and you need to get started on those hair styling lessons" she added.

"That is absolutely true" Fitz stepped in closer to her, he really wanted to ask her out on a date, but he was getting nervous and wasn't sure what to do.

"I guess I should get going" she said after he was quiet for a moment.

"Right, there's a car waiting for you" he knew he really needed to snap out of it and just do it but he was struggling to get the words out. Olivia reached for her coat to get ready to leave

"Ok… hmm… good night" she wasn't sure what to do either, she thought he was standing in her way, but he wasn't doing anything. She started moving to go around him when he finally spoke.

"I wanted to ask you something" he blurted out. Olivia stopped and turned to him again, they locked eyes and the room filled with tension.

"Would you like to have dinner with me... I know we've shared meals I mean like... Like a date" he stammered. Olivia was anxious at first when she realized what was happening, but after realizing he was feeling the same way it made her feel a lot calmer.

"I would love to go on a date with you Fitz" it was the second time that night she said his name, she had avoided it after the conversation with the kids, but at that moment it just felt right.

Fitz breathed a sigh of relief, despite his not so smooth words she had not only said yes, but also she was finally using his first name. Both of them were just standing there smiling at each other, he was just trying to remind himself he was going to speak again.

"So hmm... Is next Friday ok?" He wanted to have enough time to plan something special.

"Yeah next Friday works for me" she smiled at him sweetly

"Ok, next Friday it is" he replied

"Ok hmm I'll see you tomorrow I guess"

"I'll walk you out" Fitz helped put her coat on and then went to grab his.

They walked in silence until they reached the spot where the car was waiting to take her home, he wanted to go with her but he knew she would probably freak out and it would give his agents plenty of trouble. So instead Fitz decided to plan accordingly so he could take her home after their date. He opened the door for her and just like the day they met he kissed her cheek.

"You have no idea how happy you just made me" he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Good night Livvie" he told her after he moved so she could get in the car.

"Goodnight Fitz" she told him, he heart was racing, and still trying to come to terms with the fact that he wanter her over anyone else.

* * *

_**AN: Finally they will have their first date, Emily and Abby will most likely freak out. Also Fitz needs to do something because Cyrus is still plotting. Hopefully everything will be ok.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: I am sorry for not updating in such a long time I mean it's almost thanksgiving again, I just couldn't write for a very long time. I am really very sorry. I hope you guys are still interested in this story. Anyway, here is chapter 6, the next one will finally have their first date.**_

* * *

On Saturday morning Olivia did go to the White House, and finally returned his clothes. She also helped Fitz fix his daughters hair as they were getting ready for the hospital event, it was a very short visit because Fitz was on a tight schedule to go do the reading. The kids insisted on doing that one with him too so everything was working out great in terms of his public image.

They kept in touch the rest of the weekend through texts, Olivia worked from her office to check polls and monitor media. Fitz started wearing the pjs she returned and he loved they smelled like her, he fell for her a little more each passing day. It was Tuesday when Olivia would go to the White House again because they had the cookie decorating event scheduled. She had planned to go there after lunch so she could get some work done for her other clients, and also go through the rest of the White House plans and have something prepared.

As she was going through the papers she found mentions of birthday cake ceremony thing and it suddenly hit her that it was Fitz' birthday on the 17th. Since it was in the middle of the week the staff had incorporated it into the holiday party that Friday, nothing special, she figured Fitz didn't want to make a big fuss about it.

Olivia thought he deserved something better, but she was afraid to say something to him since they hadn't even been on a date yet, and she thought he might take it the wrong way if she brought it up as something related to his image, even though it did matter. She was feeling very confused so she decided to get Abby in for help, she actually preferred Emily's advice but that would take too long and they had to leave soon.

"Abby come here please!" she yelled from her office. Abby walked in a few minutes later looking suspiciously at Liv.

"What can I help you with boss" Abby said in a way too polite tone.

"Cut it out and close the door please I need your help" Olivia said in a rush

"Ok, what is going on, Im guessing it has something to do with POTUS boy" She said as she took a seat across from Liv

"Abby please show respect, and yes it does"

"Spill then" Abby urged her to talk

"I was going through the Holiday plans and I just remembered his birthday is next week, with all that was going on it totally slipped my mind because yes I knew his birthday already, and saw he has nothing special planned and I thought I should do something, like as me Olivia, but I don't know and with this whole plan maybe he should do something else for his image, but what if he gets mad" Liv rambled and Abby just tried to keep up

"Olivia!" she said loudly to get her attention "Calm down please, and take a breath"

She took a couple of deep breaths and once Abby saw she was going to stay somewhat calm she spoke again.

"Let's see if I get this, you think that since you guys have a thing you should do something for his birthday" Olivia nodded "But you are not sure because… its too soon?" Olivia nodded again "And also you think he should do something for the sake of his image, but… hmm… you are afraid he will think you are only concerned about his birthday because of the job, not because you care?" Olivia nodded again "But doing or saying something to make sure he doesn't think that brings us back to issue number one?"

"Yes" Olivia finally said something

"Damn, I'm good at this" Abby said to herself

"Abby! I kinda need some help here" Liv chastised her.

"Right, sorry…" Abby took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts "I don't think it's too soon or weird or whatever you are thinking because you guys have spent more time together that people who have been dating for 3 months" Liv was about to interrupt, but she held up her hand "And clearly the guy is nuts about you so he would be thrilled, now if you hide behind work I don't think he would really believe that's all you care about, I think he knows you just pretend to be all work already"

"Maybe you are right, but what if he actually doesn't want to do anything big?" Olivia didn't want to spoil the day for him or anything

"Look, it would be really hard to pull off anything spectacular for next week, I'm sure a good venue would be available for the President any day, but you can't invite people like that, I guess a small gathering with important people is doable, but do you really think it's that important for his image?" Abby knew this could backfire on them, that it was better to leave it as the WH staff had planned and that all of Olivia's concerns were just personal.

"I guess not, and now that you mention it, a poorly planned party could be a lot worse…" Abby nodded in agreement.

"If you don't want to say anything to him yet, then don't, just get him a nice gift and think of something nice to do, and just keep it to yourself until after your date" She suggested

"That sounds good I guess" Olivia was feeling much better

"Although I don't think you have to, it's not like you guys will stop liking each other out of the blue and things will be over, seriously, and I know you know that, but whatever helps you sleep" Olivia rolled her eyes at Abby and finally told her she could go back to her office so she could get ready to leave with her

* * *

Fitz got up in a really good mood that morning, he didn't even mind he had to work twice as much to make up for the free afternoon because he would see Olivia and spend some time with his kids. Cyrus was as grumpy as always, but he didn't seem so concerned about Liv anymore, Fitz knew that didn't mean he had dropped the subject, but it gave him time as long as he didn't find out about the date.

The cookie decorating event was scheduled for 5pm and it was almost 4, which meant Olivia would be there soon. Fitz called Cyrus into his office to ask if they were done with everything he had to do in order to take a break for a few hours, and also to remind Cyrus he had to behave with Olivia and keep his opinions to himself.

"You called me Mr. President" Cyrus said as he walked into the office, he sounded oddly polite which Fitz found rather weird.

"I did, I need to know if there's anything else I need to take care off before I leave" Fitz answered

"Not much, I just checked, just sign these papers" he walked over to the desk and placed some papers in front of Fitz "and that's about it for now"

"Good" Fitz said as he read them before signing.

"I should go now, James said he needs to see me, I will see you later for the event" Cyrus was getting ready to leave but Fitz stopped him.

"Cyrus" The old man stopped walking and turned around

"Yes sir?"

"Don't forget what I told you, you seem to be awfully calm, but I know you very well. I know you still don't want anything to happen between me and Olivia and you won't just drop it, but I'd be careful if I were you, I meant what I said" Fitz was dead serious and Cyrus knew it, he was hoping Fitz would let his guard down at some point or forget the whole idea, but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon. He simply thought he had to wait a bit longer and play his cards well.

"You don't need to worry, I'm just glad things are looking up with the media" Cyrus replied and forced a smile.

"Right… you can go now" Cyrus left the office and Fitz left right after, his kids were already in the residence getting ready.

* * *

Half way there he received a text from Olivia telling him she had just got there, he told her to meet him at the residence. They got there almost at the same time, the kids were already dressed up and both of them were waiting for Fitz to fix their hair, it had kind of become a thing for them. With Olivia's help he now had a clue of what to do with Karen, he still couldn't do anything too fancy or complicated but the little girl was pleased nonetheless.

"Are you guys ready?" Olivia asked the kids

"Are you kidding, it's cookies" Jerry replied

"And frosting" Karen added and Jerry nodded in agreement. Fitz let out a small laugh, he liked seeing them happy.

"Come on guys lets go" he ushered the kids out of the residence with Olivia by his side, it was off to being a great afternoon.

Everything was already set up in the room they had picked, there were hundreds of cookies and all sorts of icings and frostings. Fitz and the kids got some aprons and Olivia went to stand with Cyrus and James, right next to the press so no one questioned her being there. Fitz would've liked for Olivia to be with them working on the baked goods, but he new it was not possible at the moment so he was just happy she was in the room.

Cyrus was moving around giving people instructions and getting in everyone's business as usual until he realized James had occupied himself with the press and Olivia was all alone, he decided it was his chance to talk to her and see if there had been any developments in her relationship with Fitz. He starting walking towards her, thinking of a way to bring it up, and suddenly he got that very distinct feeling of being observed. When he got to Olivia, before he started talking he looked up and Fitz was giving him a deadly look, the old man considered his options and realized it was better to wait.

"Things seem to be going pretty well" he told Olivia, Fitz' eyes were still on him, and Cyrus began to worry it would look bad on the photos.

"Yeah, it's incredible what a few changes in the Holiday events can do" she replied

"I feel like a lot of progress has been made in such a short time" Cyrus told her, before he looked over to Fitz again, he was not staring anymore but he kept looking in their direction.

"I think we still need to be careful, the media has an uncanny ability to find a problem where there's none, but I'm optimistic we are on the right path" Their conversation was very civil and it was all about work, she didn't think much of it, and after Fitz saw she hadn't changed her demeanor and everything seemed normal he was finally able to focus on what he was doing.

Both kids were having a blast with their dad and the other children, and after a while of putting poorly drawn icing of trees, snowmen and Santa hats on the cookies, Karen decided they should make some cookies for Liv, since she was missing all the fun.

"Hey Jer, I think we should save some cookies for Liv, she's just standing there working and missing all the fun" Karen told her brother

"Yeah you are right we totally should, it's too bad she can't be here with us" he paused for a moment "Oh, you know maybe we should decorate some cookies for her, that say merry christmas or something" Karen nodded at her brother's idea

Fitz was interacting with the other kids, so Karen grabbed Jerry and walked over to their dad so they could tell him about their idea.

"Dad" Karen got Fitz' attention

"Yes sweetheart?"

"We were thinking maybe do some cookies for Liv, and just save them for when this is over, cause she's missing all of it" She told her dad her idea.

"That is very thoughtful of you, and I think it's a great idea" it made him very happy to see the kids cared about her already.

"Yeah we thought we could write merry christmas Liv on the cookies" Jerry added.

"Oh and we can add some cookies at the end were we sign our names" Karen was feeling excited.

"Ok, lets do it" Fitz said with a big smile on his face.

* * *

After the event Fitz went back to his presidential duties and the kids asked Olivia to come up to the residence with them to eat the cookies they made, it didn't take much to convince her since she actually liked spending time with them. They had put all the cookies on a plate and covered it to surprise her, the top three cookies said merry christmas Liv and then one in the middle said from and there were three at the bottom with their names. Also on both sides of the middle one they put cookies with christmas trees. When they got to the residence the kids asked for milk to be brought to them and made Olivia close her eyes before they revealed the cookies. Also Jerry gave his ipod to Tom so he could take a photo of the moment she saw the surprise, Tom was assigned to them whenever Olivia was around because Fitz trusted him and it reduced the amount of people who knew something was going on with them.

"Oh my God guys this look amazing, thank you" she said after she was allowed to open her eyes, she was deeply touched by the gesture. The kids were sitting one on each side of her so she put her arms around them and pulled them in for a hug.

"We felt bad you were missing all the fun, and thought you might like it" Karen explained

"Well of course I like it, I love it, thanks guys" Olivia couldn't believe how much she had come to care about those kids in such a short time and she was relieved and happy to know they cared for her too, it eased her nerves about starting something with Fitz. She kissed their cheeks to show her gratitude and then pulled out her phone to take a photo of the whole plate before eating.

The three of them ate together, she had to insist though because they were adamant those cookies had been made for her and they had already ate many, but she told them she didn't like to eat alone and would enjoy them a lot more if they all ate. She also took a few selfies with them, they were having a lot of fun and Tom was getting it all on camera. He had actually made a quick judgement call and recorded the whole part when she first saw the plate, and then he just took a bunch of photos afterwards even though he wasn't asked to do that, he was sure Fitz would appreciate his initiative.

After a while they just watched tv until Fitz returned because, as it was becoming a habit for her, she stayed for dinner and of course Fitz took a break from work to go join them. Even though it just a typical weekday dinner, for Olivia it felt special because it made her feel like she belonged with them, and for Fitz it was a vision of what his future could be like and he couldn't be happier.

* * *

Later that evening, after Olivia had gone home, Tom returned to his presidential duties and escorted Fitz back to his office, but instead of standing outside as he usually did he went inside the office.

"Everything ok Tom?" Fitz asked him due to the unusual behavior

"Yes Sir, I just wanted to show you something" He walked towards Fitz' desk and handed him the ipod "Jerry asked to take a photo of when she saw the cookies since you were going to miss it, but I took the liberty to shoot a video instead, and then snap a few photos afterwards"

Fitz unlocked the device and clicked play on the video, he felt like he had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. Her interactions with his kids made his heart melt, his eyes were moist by the time he had watched the video and all the photos. He turned to Tom and cleared his throat.

"Thanks Tom, that was a good call, I'm glad you got this"

"You' are welcome Sir, I'm just glad I could be of service" Fitz nodded at Tom, and he left.

Fitz tried to concentrate on his work, but it was hard, he couldn't get Olivia put of his mind. He was beginning to worry about their date because it couldn't be just dinner, they'd already had too many of those, not that he didn't like it, but he didn't want their date to be just another dinner, minus the children. He wanted to bounce his ideas to someone, but there wasn't many people he trusted and then it hit him that the solution was standing outside his door. Also he needed to make sure Tom made all the necessary arrangements so he could go pick Olivia up and take her home.

"Tom, can you come in please?" He said loud enough to be heard outside.

"Everything ok sir?"

"Yeah, I just need your feedback on something"

* * *

Wednesday morning was busy and complicated for everyone involved in managing the Presidents public life. James was running around like crazy trying to keep everything under control, while OPA assessed the situation and how bad could it become. Just as Olivia had predicted, some media outlets had found a way to turn Fitz' good actions into a problem, they were now saying he was using his kids to make himself look better. It was ridiculous and there was just a few people saying it and not very important ones, but if not handled immediately it could turn into a huge deal. After they decided how to go about it James went to press briefing room to tame the beasts.

"Good morning, I know you are all eager to hear what we have to say about President Grant being accused of using his children to boost his approval rates, but first I would like to ask all of you to take a moment to consider what you are claiming, and if it even makes any sense.

President Grant has never given any reason so doubt his capabilities as a father, you say this just started now and it seems very convenient, but keep in mind that this is his first christmas in office so how could he have done all of this before. How do you find it odd that a father wants to share important Holiday events with his children? How is it weird that kids want to share christmas events with their father? Are you seriously questioning a couple of kids willing to participate of and event about cookies, actually about kids and cookies?"

James took his chances when he agreed to take questions after he finished his statement, but it seemed like it had worked because he was only asked about future holiday events and when the christmas message video would be released. Quinn was monitoring social media and most people agreed it was ridiculous to say he was using his kids just because they showed up at a couple of Holiday events, other also said it was great to see them together and that it made since because they were a family.

After the crisis was averted everyone went back to their activities, Olivia was busy at her office finishing up on other cases, as much as she wanted to go visit Fitz and the kids, she had work that couldn't be postponed anymore. She was nervous that the next time she would see him would be for their date and decided it was time she told her sister and Abby.

* * *

Around dinner time, Olivia dismissed everyone at the office except for Abby and called Emily so she would join them. She also ordered take out and set up the conference room to have diner there.

"So… what it is that you want to talk about?" Abby said as she loaded her plate with food

"It has to be about President boyfriend cause we are both here" Emily added.

"Come on, can't I just buy dinner for my sister and best friend just to spend sometime together"

"You could, but that's not it, what happened?" Abby insisted.

"Spill" Emily told her.

"Fine, fine, I do have some… interesting news to share… Last Friday he… he asked me out on a date" She finally got it out.

"Oh my god this is great! I knew it, I knew he was into you, I told you time would prove me right" Emily said excitedly.

"Well it took him long enough, also I already knew for sure he was into her, he told me when I went to the White House, sorry I didn't tell you" She said the last part to Emily.

"It's alright, I did get the first part of the story right after it happened, we are even" Emily replied

"I'm right here" Olivia got their attention.

"Sorry Liv"

"Sorry sis"

"Ok, now can you please stop gloating for five minutes, I have a date with the President on Friday, it's kind of a really big deal I'm still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he likes me that way"

"Liv, we've talked about this, how could he not like you that way" Emily reassured her, it pained her to see Olivia question her worth. Both her and Abby knew the reason why that happened sometimes and it was very frustrating and maddening to see how the actions of one person had such a big impact in her life.

"I agree with Emily, that man is extremely lucky to have you in his life" Abby added

Olivia knew they were right, but she knew there was no reason for her to feel insecure, but sometimes she just couldn't help it. She had let that get in her way too much already, but now she actually felt determined to put it behind her and be happy.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Here's chapter 7...fianlly. The much awaited first date. I hope I don't dissapoint. It's been hard to write, school is crazy because I'm graduating soon and stress gives me major writers block. I apologize for taking so long with this story, I mean it's almost thanksgiving again. I hope you guys enjoy. Please review :)**_

* * *

Friday came along in no time and Fitz was eager for the day to go by fast, he had made all the necessary arrangements with Tom so he could go pick her up, but it was going to be surprise, as long as she was concerned he would be sending a car to pick her up at 7. He was also going to drop her off after, he wanted to do regular date things to make up for the fact that they weren't actually able to go out.

Cyrus almost caught Fitz as he discussed his plans with Tom Thursday morning, but he quickly changed the topic and successfully dodged the bullet. He also called OPA and asked Abby to call Cyrus about something pertaining their PR plans so he would be too busy all day to be meddling in his life. James only knew about what happened when they met and the confrontation between Cyrus and Fitz, but he hadn't caught them on anything else so Fitz figured he was in the clear for a little bit longer. He just wanted to have some time to start building their relationship before all hell broke loose, he was scared Liv would freak out.

Olivia was planning to leave her office at lunchtime so she would have enough time to get ready, she wanted to finish closing on a couple of clients, but the little time she was at work she was so distracted she had to delegate all the work to her associates. She had spent a few hours on Thursday afternoon going over her closet with Abby and Emily trying to pick an outfit, after going through all the contents of the closet she settled for one of her favorites, a Herve Leger off shoulder bandage black dress, it was an elegant dress that highlighted every curve, topped with an off-shoulder neckline. She also decided for her classic black pumps and a cream colored coat.

Before she left the office she went to find Huck, she had decided what to get Fitz for his birthday and needed to ask her friend for a personal favor.

"Huck, do you have a moment?" She knocked on the door of his office

"Sure come in" he replied

"I need to ask for a favor, it's not work related, it's personal" She explained

"Anything you need, you already know that" He told her

"Thanks" She gave him a warm smile "Could you please get this photo printed, nice paper, high resolution and all that" She handed him a flash drive.

"Is it for him" Huck asked

"Yes"

"I am happy for you, he seems alright, but I'll be keeping an eye on him, he better behave" Huck was very protective towards Olivia, and like the rest of her friends experience required him to be extra careful.

"I don't think that will be needed, but I appreciate the thought" Olivia just didn't feel like she had to worry, she trusted Fitz.

"I'll be the judge of that" Huck replied, he sounded harsh, but Olivia knew he meant well.

"Ok, I have to leave now, take care, and thanks for helping" Olivia left Huck in his office and proceeded to say goodbye to everyone so she could finally get home.

* * *

Olivia was feeling quite anxious and her appetite was gone, so when she got home she decided to take a long relaxing bath, when she got out she felt a whole lot better and she fixed herself a cup of tea and ordered a salad from a restaurant she loved that was just down the street from where she lived. When she was done eating she took her time getting her make up done and fixing her hair into loose curls.

Fitz had texted her that morning that he had arranged for her to be picked up at 7, and she was actually grateful she didn't have to drive. She didn't want to make him wait longer than needed so she was ready by 6:30. She decided to turn on the TV while she waited, and stopped on a channel when she heard they were talking about Fitz. At first they were talking about the recent Holiday events and the talk was pretty positive, Olivia felt very good about herself and the work her team had done, but her joy was short lived because a few minutes later they started talking about the fact that he should start dating at some point and how he was one of the most elegible bachelors in the world. They started naming women who they deemed appropriate for dating the President of the United States, and Liv began feeling self conscious, her mind was spiraling down to a bad place when she heard the doorbell ring.

Olivia immediately turned off the TV and walked to greet the agent she thought would be picking her up, she tried to calm down and figured she had the entire ride to the White House to get herself together, but when she opened the door and Tom stepped aside to reveal Fitz himself was there to pick her up. She was stunned silent upon seeing him standing there smiling radiantly and looking as handsome as ever. He was wearing a charcoal suit and a black cashmere sweater underneath that fitted him like a glove. Much to her relief he was silent as well, the moment she opened the door and he laid eyes on her his reaction was pretty similar to hers. They were both standing there just looking at each other, the agents began to feel uncomfortable and Tom decided to clear his throat. Fitz snapped out his thoughts and finally spoke.

"Hi" was all he managed to say

"Hi" she answered

"Hmm I got you flowers" He produced a beautiful bouquet of white lilies from behind his back to give them to her.

"Thank you, they are beautiful" She said as she took the flowers from him.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you… you look… stunning" Olivia felt her cheeks get warm

"Thanks… I should put this in water… would you like to come in?" She asked him

"Yeah, sure" He stepped inside his apartment, Tom went in right behind him for protocol reasons, and both of them stood awkwardly near the door, while they waited for her to return.

She came back with a vase filled with water and placed the lilies inside it, then she placed the vase on her coffee table and went to get her coat. She started walking towards Fitz and when she was putting on her coat he stepped in to help her. Tom opened the door for them and once they were outside Fitz offered his arm to her, she gladly took it and they all walked back to the elevator.

They were pretty much quiet until they reached the parking lot, as much as the agents turned the other way she was still very much aware of their presence, and inside the small space of the elevator it was a bit awkward, they looked at each other and smiled a couple of times, she didn't let go of his arm until he helped inside the SUV.

"I was not expecting to see you here" She said after they started moving.

"I know" he said with a smirk "I wanted to surprise you"

"That you did mister" She tried to smile naturally, but she was still trying to get past her tv induced freak out. Fitz noticed she looked uncomfortable, and wondered if he had done something wrong

"I thought it would be a nice surprise, since we can't really go out, I wanted to do other normal date stuff even though this is not… I just… is everything ok?"

"Yes of course it is, I'm just a little concerned, your agents must have gone through a lot of trouble to pull this off" She cursed in her head for making him worry.

"Ok" He was not convinced. Olivia took his hand and gave him a warm smile.

"It was a great surprise, but you know me I think too much about everything"

"It's alright, if I let them know with enough time it's not that much trouble" He smiled at her reassuringly.

They held each others gaze and smiled for a few moments before she decided to break the silence, to see if she could get past her nerves and start enjoying their date.

"So what do you have planned for tonight?" She asked him

"That is another surprise" he gave her a sly smile "You are going to have to wait and see"

"Seriously? Oh come on, give me something"

"Hmm, I can tell you we are going to have dinner" She laughed and playfully hit his arm, Fitz was really enjoying teasing her.

"Really, that's all you are going to tell me?"

"We are having Italian" he was not about to give away the main part of his plans.

"You are something else" Olivia made peace with being in the dark about his plans and changed the topic of the conversation. "So are the kids ok with sharing you tonight?"

"Ok? they practically pushed me out the door, Karen was all like, you can't be late dad that would be very rude, also they have more fun when I'm not around, their nanny will probably let them have a ton of ice cream and stay up late watching tv or a movie" He was really glad his kids were fine with him dating, and he actually didn't mind spoiling them a little bit.

"That sounds like fun"

"I'll keep it mind for our second date" He was so happy he couldn't stop smiling.

"What makes you so sure there will be a second date?" It was her turn to tease him

"I guess I better step up my game tonight then"

Her nerves were mostly gone, both of them were feeling a whole lot calmer by the time they reached the White House. They walked inside together and she was anxious to find out what they would be doing, but a good kind of anxious, she felt excited and happy, something she hadn't felt in a long time. He was really hoping to live up to her expectations, he just wanted to make her happy.

* * *

When they finally reached their destination, Fitz opened the door for her and let her in, his agents stayed outside. The room was dark so she didn't realize immediately what they would be doing, but it wasn't long before he turned on all the lights and she realized where they were.

"So, What do you think?" He said motioning to the bowling lane behind him.

"I did not see this coming" She was truly surprised, she had not expected to bowl on their first date, and she was certainly not dressed for it.

"I figured, since we've had dinner so many times already I had to do something special" He had a goofy smile on his face, he was clearly excited, but then he wasn't sure she was loving the idea "You do like bowling right, I remember you said you did in college with your friends…"

"I do, but I would have liked a little heads up, you know to plan my outfit accordingly, I just feel like I might not be dressed appropriately"

"Right, but it would have been a shame though, because that is a great dress" The way he was looking at her, made her feel butterflies in her stomach.

"Well, this way you might actually stand a chance against me" Olivia walked over to the chairs where the shoes had been placed by the staff so she could get ready, along with the brand new shoes she also found a pair of socks. Fitz was momentarily distracted by her, and he just stood there.

"Are we going to do this or what?" She said to get his attention.

"Uhh… yeah… Game on" He quickly went to change his shoes as well.

"This place looks great, I heard it wasn't looking so good recently" Olivia commented, she had read somewhere that the place needed at least some paint.

"Yeah it was quite ugly when I first took office, so I had it completely remodeled, I figured the kids might enjoy it"

Fitz already had arranged several bowling balls for her to choose, since he didn't know which weight she preferred, his was already picked and ready to be used so while she chose, he set up their names on the screen for the scoreboard.

Olivia took her turn first, he watched her as she got ready to roll the ball, her dress was indeed getting in her way. As she lifted her dress a little bit, to be able to move more freely, she turned to Fitz and gave him a flirty smile. He realized she was completely aware of the effect she was having on him and she seemed to be enjoying it.

She made a strike on her first attempt, but Fitz didn't do so well. She teased him about it and he took mock offense, but really he couldn't be happier about how the night was going. Fitz had taken off is suit coat so he was not the only one enjoying the view, the soft material of his sweater clung to his body in all the right places. Olivia was so distracted by the flexing of his biceps that he didn't realize when Tom came in to leave some snacks.

Fitz had asked his most trusted SS agents to help with the serving of food throughout the night, and excused the staff who would normally take care of it. Only his agents and a couple of aides that worked at the residence knew about her. He wanted to keep the amount people who knew about Liv to a minimum. A part of him thought it was ridiculous he had to hiding around in his own house, but he also knew that his life was far from normal.

After a while, both of them stopped taking the game seriously and they were just goofing around making up new ways to throw the bowling ball, and purposefully trying to make the other miss the shot. Olivia won the game anyway, so Fitz gracefully accepted defeat and suggested they moved onto dinner. He drove her on a gold cart through the tunnels, with his agents following close behind, he had arranged for diner to be set up at one of the dinning rooms in the Blair House.

When they got there, Olivia excused herself to go freshen up, and Fitz made sure everything was just like he had ordered. The food had been placed on buffet warming trays and he would be the one serving it, the Blair house staff had been dismissed for the night.

"This looks great" She said upon returning, and finding him filling a couple of bowls with soup.

"It's Zuppa Toscana, it's one of chef Coopers specialties" He told her and stopped what he was doing to pull her chair out for her to sit.

"Well, just by the way it smells I can tell it's delicious" Fitz placed one of the bowls in front of her and then sat down.

They didn't talk much at first, they had worked quite an appetite with the first part of their date so most of their attention was on the food. A little while later, Fitz served the second course, it was parmesan chicken with spaghetti, conversation flowed easily, they talked about their days, the weather and just about anything that popped into their heads. For dessert, Fitz had to go to the kitchen to retrieve it, because it was gelato and it couldn't be left out.

"I don't know if I can eat anything else" She told Fitz when he returned

"Not even hazelnut gelato?" He said with a smirk

"Oh, ok maybe I can manage" Fitz let out a small laugh and then served the ice cream.

"I gotta tell you Mr. President, your chances of getting a second date are pretty good" She told him after taking the first spoonful of ice cream.

"Glad to hear that" He said grinning ear to ear.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Liv realized she probably should be leaving, it had been a wonderful evening but it was getting really late and she knew he had to be tired. She wasn't all that surprised when he said he'd be taking her home too. It was a quiet ride home, but it had nothing to do with nerves anymore, she was just pretty tired too. Olivia leaned on his shoulder and nearly fell asleep. Everything was quiet in her building, when they got to her floor, the agents stepped out of the elevator first and stood as far as protocol allowed them too. Fitz walked her to her door, dreading the moment because he didn't want to be a part from her.

"I had a great time tonight" She said smiling, she was leaning on her door and he was standing really close to her.

"So, you think I can get a second date?"

"I'm not fully convinced, but maybe" She teased him

"Pretty please" He pouted his lips and gave her his most convincing puppy dog eyes.

"Really?"

"What" he feigned innocence

"Alright Fitz, you have your second date" Looking at those blue eyes she had lost her will to tease him.

"Why thank you Miss Popes, you will not regret it"

"I'm sure I won't"

He really didn't want to leave, but he knew he had to

"I guess I should get going" He said it but we was actually getting closer to her, he was debating wether or not to kiss her goodbye.

"Yeah… I guess" He saw she was nervous so he opted for kissing her cheek, really close to her mouth, he didn't want to do anything she didn't want.

"So… Hmm goodnight" Fitz waited until she walked inside her apartment and then he left, the elevator was already on her floor, he walked in, but seconds later he reconsidered and pushed the button for the doors to open. He rang her doorbell and she opened, surprised to him back so soon.

"Everything ok?" She asked him

"Yeah I just… I forgot something" He answered

"What did y…" Her words escaped her when he gently cupped her face in his hands he was looking right into her eyes. All logical thought had escaped her head. He is so close she can feel his warm breath on her face, their lips are almost touching, but he stops.

"May I?" he asks, barely able to speak the words.

She slightly nodded, giving him all the confirmation he needed, he finally pressed his lips against her, her lips were soft and sweet. There were butterflies in her stomach and she could feel the flush on her cheeks. Hearts racing, ragged breaths and soft moans, it was as if time stood still, at that moment nothing else mattered. He moved his arms and wrapped them around her waist to bring her closer to him, Olivia threw her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. Their lips moved in perfect harmony, it was slow and tender, yet full of passion. He pulled away, they were both gasping for air, he pecked her lips a couple of times before taking a step back; she finally opened her eyes a few moments later. He held both of her hands in his and they held each others gaze for what felt like an eternity.

"That was…" he couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Yeah…" She was still trying to catch her breath.

His lips curved upwards, unable to contain his happiness and she couldn't help but smile as well. He pecked her lips one more time before letting go of her hands.

"Goodnight Livvy" He slowly walked backwards, unable to take his eyes away from her, she turned around in a daze and managed to get inside her apartment.

Fitz felt like he could fly, he couldn't believe how much she had changed his life for the better, in that moment he knew, without a shadow of a doubt that there was no going back, she was it for him.


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN: Finally updating. I apologize for the long break, life has been complicated. Anyway, here's the next chapter I hope you guys enjoy. I should mention I finished writing this under the effects of diverse cough medicines so please excuse spelling, grammar and other incongruences you might find. Please review :)**_

* * *

Olivia had a hard time falling asleep Friday night, she was reliving the entire evening in her head and just enjoying the feeling of utter contempt she felt. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so happy and excited, it was amazing how much he had changed her life in such a short time. Fitz went home unable to wipe the goofy smile off of his face.

The next morning Fitz was in a really good mood and he got up and made breakfast for himself and his kids. He made waffles with chocolate chips, which was unusual and even allowed them to put whipped cream on them.

"So you had fun last night dad?" Karen asked.

"I did, I had a great time" He said smiling.

"Cool" Jerry said "Dad can we have cheeseburgers for lunch today? we haven't had them in a while"

"Sure" Fitz said

"Ohh, and ice cream, please dad" Karen added

"Hmm, actually there's some hazelnut gelato from my date last night, how does that sound" Both kids realized their dad wouldn't say no to anything for the rest of the weekend and gave each other a knowing look

It was turning out great for the kids that Olivia came into their lives, not only did they like her a lot, but also they'd benefit from their dad being in such a good mood a lot.

Olivia was also feeling great and it didn't go past her friends and family. She agreed to go shopping with her sister on Sunday, which was a quite daunting task considering hormones made her sister a tad difficult to deal with lately, and that night her mom called to check in on her and she definitely something about her daughter was different. Then on Monday she volunteered to deal with an obnoxious client they had and patiently fixed their problem. Abby and Emily knew everything that had happened and pestered her for every detail of her date. The guys just figured things were going well for her and Quinn, was still to earn their trust so she just wondered if anything had changed in Olivia's life.

* * *

Considering the success of their date, Olivia decided she wanted to do something special on his birthday, just for them and the kids. She was going back and forth between planning something with him or with the kids and surprising him instead. The reason she hesitated was because they hadn't discussed birthdays and didn't know if he actually liked to celebrate, the last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable.

After much consideration she decided that if he had something against birthdays he would have mentioned something already. Monday afternoon she was supposed to have dinner with them, so she got there quite earlier to talk to the kids.

"Hey guys" She greeted them, they were watching tv.

"Liv you came early!" Karen exclaimed, it made her happy to see Olivia.

"Yes, I need to talk to you guys about something" Jerry muted the tv and turned his attention to her

"What about?" He asked

"Your dad's birthday… I was thinking we could do something and surprise him, do you think he would like that?" She asked.

"Well coming from you… and us, I think he'd like anything" Jerry answered honestly

"We were just planning on having you over for dinner and eating some cake, dad is not really into big birthday parties, or maybe he just didn't like anything mom planned" Karen explained.

"Yeah, they fought about that a lot, but I guess it was because they didn't like each other anymore" Jerry added. "But he loves spending time with all three of us so what did you have in mind?"

"Nothing big, I was just thinking we could cook for him, and I could pretend I can't be here or that I' can just drop by after dinner because I'm busy and then surprise him"

"We could pretend we have to go a friends house for a school project" Jerry suggested

"Maybe just one of you, if we all say we can't be here he'll suspect we are up to something" Liv told him.

"It should be Jerry, I'll make a cute face and tell him he can still have dinner with me… he will be in a bad mood"

"Luckily for us, Cyrus will be the one getting the heat" Olivia told them with a small laugh.

"Poor uncle Cy" Karen said

"Nah, he'll be ok, he's the one torturing dad most of the time"

"So it's settled?" Olivia asked, and both kids nodded enthusiastically. "Ok let's start planning, we have sometime before he comes home. What kind of cake is his favorite?"

"Chocolate" Both kids said at the same time.

"Is that his favorite or yours?" Both kids laughed.

"It's our favorite, we all love chocolate cake" Olivia looked at Karen incredulously.

"We swear" Jerry said.

"Ok, I believe you" She figured he wouldn't mind "How about we make some homemade four cheese pizza and we bake him the best chocolate cake ever"

"That sounds awesome" Karen exclaimed.

"Yeah he's gonna love it" Jerry agreed.

"Great, now just remember that you guys have too keep it a secret"

"We can handle it, its just a little while" Karen said confidently, and Jerry nodded. "Would you help us with his birthday gift, we are not so sure about it yet"

"Of course, and we better hurry because your dad will be up soon"

* * *

Later that evening when Fitz arrived for dinner, Olivia and the kids had almost everything planned already, they had decided on the menu and also come up with the stories they would tell Fitz to make him think they wouldn't be available for dinner. They had even decided to call the parents of the kid Jerry was supposed to be doing homework with, so they would corroborate their story.

"Hey Liv" he said after they settled at the dinner table "As you probably already know, my birthday is on Wednesday, and I would love for you to join us for dinner and cake" He told her.

"I would love to" She smiled at him "So theres no big party besides the event on Friday?" She asked him.

"No, I'm not a big fan, I'd rather just celebrate with you guys and feed the press with a little cake cutting on the holiday party" The kids looked at each other mischievously, which went unnoticed by Fitz, who was too distracted looking at Liv.

"Ok, what time should I be here?"

"Around 5 I guess, I'm leaving work a bit earlier, Cyrus can't say anything because it's my birthday"

Olivia didn't stay much longer after dinner, it was a school night, and Fitz had to get back to work. He walked her out and they bid each other goodbye until Wednesday because their schedules would be keeping them apart the next day. Fitz was over the moon, for the first time in a long time he would be enjoying his birthday instead of fighting about stupid parties for people who only pretended to like him.

* * *

Tuesday morning Olivia arrived early at her office and went to find Huck, he was already there and he had already picked up Fitz's birthday gift.

"Good morning Huck" She greeted him with a smile. "This looks great thank you so much"

"Glad you like it, I take it things went well on Friday" Huck inquired

"Yes, everything went great, now I need another favor, it's really just a question" The previous night the kids had asked her for advice on what to give their dad, and she suggested they shoot a video were they say something nice to their dad and then say happy birthday. Both of them agreed and they did it right away. The thing was that the video needed some editing, and she was not really sure what to do.

Olivia explained the situation to Huck, she just needed a little tips on how to use the software, she could have asked him to do it for her but she wanted to do it herself. It ended up being something pretty simple and when she was done she was pleased with her work. She busied herself with her clients and cases the rest of the day to make sure she had the day off for Fitz's birthday. Later that day she called Tom to make sure the kids were picked up from school a little earlier than usual. Tom talked to the kids agents and they agreed, Fitz didn't really need to call the school or anything, no one questioned the secret service agents when they picked up the first children from school whatever time it was.

Everything seemed to be going well, she just hoped Cyrus wouldn't find out about it, they were getting a fair amount of people involved in their plan. Trying to surprise the President was quite a task. Before she went to bed that night she briefly talked to Fitz and told him she would be there at 5 sharp, she just hoped he wouldn't be too upset when he heard the fake news about her and Jerry.

* * *

Fitz had a great birthday morning, the best he'd had in ages. He woke up to a call from Olivia singing him happy birthday and then his kids jumping on his bed to give him birthday hugs. He left for work feeling great. Around noon he got a text from Olivia complaining about a client, it was all part of the set up.

Karen and Jerry were picked up from school at 1pm and Olivia arrived at the White House a little after that. Lauren assured her that both Cyrus and Fitz had back to back meetings and had no idea she and the kids were home already. Around 3 Fitz got a call from a desperate Jerry telling him about a project he had forgotten about and that he had to go to a friends house to do it. They got the boys dad to call Fitz and pretend to be just as mad about the kids being so irresponsible. Jerry's agents said they had it all worked out, Jerry apologized and promised to work really hard to so they could still hang out before his bedtime.

Around half an hour later it was Olivia's turn, she first texted him that things had gotten complicated and that she was at a town about two hours away from DC, but that she was trying to get things done fast, saying she would be there a little late. Ten minutes later she called and told him she wouldn't be making it for dinner, that she just hoped she could return to the city that night so she could stop by to see him.

Fitz was upset to say the least, his dinner plans were basically spoiled and he was not feeling the birthday spirit anymore, he was even considering staying in the office late like any other normal day until Karen arrived. She took a break from the cooking and went down to the oval.

"Hey daddy" she said in a really sweet voice. "I just heard Liv won't make it either" she went to him and sat on his lap. "But you can still have dinner with me, I'll help you blow the candles"

"Thank you sweetheart" He kissed her cheek "I really needed a little cheer up"

"Look on the bright side dad, we can celebrate again with them" She suggested

"You are right, why don't you go do your homework, I'll be up in like an hour" Karen hugged him tight and left. Fitz was feeling a little better, but he was still quite disappointed, he had started the day with really big expectations and things had gone awfully wrong.

Olivia and the kids were busy at the residence putting the finishing touches on the cake. They had made a quite large chocolate cake, and the kids drew some happy faces and hearts on it with white icing, and they also wrote happy birthday, it was a little messy, but they knew Fitz would love it. Also they cooked 2 large pizzas, cheesy garlic breadsticks, and a simple caesar salad, which Karen and Jerry said they were not having.

When Fitz got to the residence it was all dark and empty, they had turned off most lights and hoped he didn't stop by the kitchen before looking for Karen, since it was a complete mess. They heard his footsteps and that was Karen's cue to call out to him. They were in her room.

"Dad I'm in here" Fitz heard his daughter and walked to her room. When he walked in, the lights were off and the TV was on, Olivia and Jerry were hiding next to the bed and Karen was in front of it waiting to hit play.

"What is this?" Fitz voiced full of curiosity.

"Just a little something we made for you" Karen started the video and both kids appeared on the screen.

"Dad we love you, you are the most awesome dad ever, you are always there for me and my sister" Jerry started "You always make time for us to help us with school and play with us even though you have like the most important job in the world" Karen continued.

"We just wanted to tell you that we feel like the luckiest kids on earth because you are our dad" It was Jerry's turn again. "and that we are very grateful for all you do for us" Karen added.

"We love you dad! Happy birthday!" Both of then said at the same time.

Fitz was teary eyed by the time the video ended, he knew his voice would crack as soon as he tried to say something.

"Thanks sweetheart, this is the best gift ever" Fitz said as he went to hug his daughter. He was just about to say he was calling Jerry to thank him too and asked who helped shoot the video when Karen spoke again.

"Wait until you see the rest of it" As soon as she said that Olivia turned on the lights and she and Jerry yelled surprise. He turned to them, shock written all over his face. Jerry ran over to him.

"You didn't see it coming did you dad" Jerry said happily.

"No I did not, you guys totally played me, I'm wondering who masterminded all of this" He was looking at Olivia who was now standing just a few feet away from him, right behind the kids.

"It was all Liv's idea" Karen replied.

"Yeah, and she shot the video and made it all nice" Jerry said.

"Well this is the best birthday surprise ever" He said looking at her.

"Glad to hear that" Liv couldn't help but smile broadly at him, it just made her really happy to see him happy.

"You know what this calls for?" Fitz asked the kids, and opened his arms wide.

"Group hug?" Jerry suggested, and Fitz nodded

"Yay! Group hug!" Karen said, both kids went in for the hug, but Olivia hesitated and stay back. Fitz looked at her expectantly.

"Liv, would like to join us?" Fitz asked her "Please" He wasn't even sure why she hesitated, he thought she already felt comfortable around them, after all the surprise had been her idea.

"Come on Liv" Jerry urged her.

"Yeah, it's not a group hug unless we are all in it" Karen grabbed Olivia's hand and pulled her closer to them. She just needed one look at Fitz's warm welcoming gaze before she gave in.

Fitz wrapped the three of them in his arms and squeezed them tight, her arms were around both kids, and she rested her head on his chest, she could feel the steady thump of his heart and she finally relaxed. They stayed like that until the kids started wiggling to be freed.

"Are you ready for more?" Liv asked excited

"There's more?" Fitz was so happy he could burst.

"Of course theres more" Karen and Jerry took hold of both of his hands and dragged him out of the room. When they got to the kitchen Olivia walked in first and turned on the light.

"You guys cooked!" Fitz exclaimed.

"Yeah… well Liv did most of it but we helped" Karen said proudly.

"And we learned a bunch of cool things" Jerry told him.

"They were the best sous chefs anyone could ever as for" Olivia said, earning huge grins from both kids.

"I can't wait to try all of this" Happy couldn't even begin to describe the way Fitz was feeling, they had played him but it had totally been worth it, his birthday had turned out way better than what he had expected.

"Let's get this to the table" Olivia suggested. As they were moving the food to the dining room, Fitz finally noticed what kind of pizza they were having.

"It's four cheese… you remembered" He was in awe with all the effort Olivia had put into the evening.

"Of course I did"

Once they had all the food at the table they sat and enjoyed their meal. Fitz was quite impressed by Olivia's culinary skills. When the cake was brought out his heart warmed seeing the kids handiwork on the decoration, he took photos of it before blowing the candles and then he gave his phone to Tom, who had kind of become their official photographer. Olivia, Karen and Jerry sang happy birthday and urged him to make a wish before blowing the candles.

After having some cake, they decided to watch a movie so they could just relax and hang out together, Olivia and Fitz sat in the middle with the kids on either side of them. After they finished big hero 6, the kids were already falling asleep so Fitz took them to bed.

"Thank you for everything" Fitz said when he returned. "This was just… perfect"

"It was my pleasure" Fitz sat back down on the couch and scooted closer to her, he gently took her hand and kissed it. "Oh wait, I almost forgot" Fitz was startled as she quickly got up to her something and returned to the couch.

"There's one more gift" She handed him the neatly wrapped picture frame.

"Livy, you shouldn't have… you already gave me the best birthday party ever"

"Just open it" Fitz complied to her wished and carefully removed the wrapping paper. His breath caught in his throat when he turned the picture frame around and finally saw the photo, it was a beautiful candid of him and the kids playing in the snow.

"I was going to print it bigger but I figured this way you could have it in your office"

"I love it, it's perfect" He cupped her face with his free hand and leaned in for quick kiss. "What did I ever do to deserve you" Fitz looked at her dreamily, he set the photo on the coffee table, he cupped her face in his hands and he pulled her in for a proper kiss. It was slow and tender, he wanted to communicate through that kiss the three words he felt it was too soon to say.


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN: So I started writing this and worked really hard to finish this as soon as possible thinking it had been longer since I updated this one, than since I updated my other story (The Greater Good). Turns out it's been longer for the other one, but I had already started so here it is. I'm sorry I don't update more often I swear I try my best. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy. Please review I love reading what you think :)**_

* * *

After his birthday party Olivia stayed with him for a little while, they were both really happy enjoying each others company. Olivia would be meeting them for dinner for the rest of the week, they were trying to spend as much time together as they could, assuming they would be apart for the holidays. Christmas was merely a week away and both of them were going to spend it with their parents.

The kids were out of school for the holidays that Friday, Olivia arrived at the White House around 5pm with Abby in tow. That afternoon there was another official holiday party, in which they would be cutting a cake for Fitz's birthday. Everything had been set up, she and Abby were just overseeing the details, and checking press statements. Soon after they arrived Olivia excused herself to go say hi to the kids.

"Liv!" Jerry exclaimed when he saw her.

"Hi guys" She replied.

"Are you here for the party?" Karen asked her.

"Yes, but I wanted to come say hi to you before I get back to work" She explained Karen

"We'll get to go too, this is the first one we are allowed to go" Karen told Olivia.

"Yeah, but we are only allowed to be there for a little while" Jerry pouted.

"Just for the cake part" Karen added. "Dad said is a grown up thing"

"It's true and it's not really fun, it's more like a work thing. Your dad has to go meet with people and take a lot of photos with a lot of people" She knew Fitz was dreading it already, but also relieved it was the last one. "Not even your dad will be there the whole time, he will arrive once the party has started, then the cake is cut, and finally he spends the rest of his time there with the photo op"

"That does sound boring" Jerry agreed.

"Will you be there the whole time?" Karen asked.

"Probably, I have to make sure everything goes smoothly with the press" She told them.

"So you won't be coming up for dinner?" Jerry asked her, both kids looked disappointed.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to, but I'm coming over tomorrow so we can watch a movie and maybe you guys can teach me how to use your xbox" The kids grinned with joy. Olivia had to remind herself to call her parents and let them know she'd be arriving until Tuesday, just one day before Christmas Eve, instead of Sunday like she had originally planned. Emily assured Liv she could handle their parents alone for a couple of days.

"Ok, do you have to leave now?" Karen asked.

"Not right now, I can stay a little longer" Olivia trusted Abby could hold the fort for a while.

"You wanna see the Christmas ornaments I made in class?" Karen said excitedly.

"Sure"

"I'll go get mine too" Jerry said and both kids sprinted out of the living room.

Liv was checking her emails while she waited for the kids when Fitz walked in. He was more than pleased to find her there.

"Hello beautiful" Olivia startled hearing his voice, and quickly looked up form her phone.

"Hey, I was not expecting to see you so early" She said with a smile.

"I could say the same" He replied.

"I just wanted to come say hi to the kids" She explained "What about you?"

"I got a stain on my tie" He laughed, and she finally noticed he wasn't wearing a tie. "So where are the kids?"

"They went to get the Christmas ornaments they made at school to show me"

"Oh yes, some fine art pieces, not because they are my children, but they have talent"

"I believe you" Fitz stood there just looking at her, he had to leave, but he didn't want to. "Weren't you getting a tie?"

"Right. The tie" He still didn't move. "Maybe I don't need to get back to work, maybe I'd rather be somewhere else…" He got closer to her, she was sitting on the couch so he kneeled down to be at eye level. "Doing something else" He slowly closed the gap between them, and just as his lips were brushing against hers, the kids returned.

"Dad come on, not in front of us please" Jerry said making a face. Fitz's face turned bright red and Olivia buried her face in her hands.

"Yeah, you guys are cute but no mouth kissing please" Karen added.

"I should go get a clean tie" He cleared throat and walked towards the kids. "And you two, behave please"

"We behave dad, you are the one who doesn't" Jerry said.

"What?"

"It's true" Karen agreed, Olivia was trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh really? I don't behave?" Karen and Jerry didn't see it coming, Fitz hugged both kids at the same time and started tickling them, and kissing their faces "How is this for not behaving huh?"

"No dad, please stop" Jerry pleased, half laughing. Olivia could no longer hold in the laughter.

"Liv help!"

"Sorry guys, I don't want him to get me too" Olivia said when her laughter subsided.

"Oh I'll get you all right, you won't get away so easy" Fitz stopped the attack on his kids and whispered something to them. Before Olivia could react all three were on her.

"Show no mercy!" Fitz yelled.

Karen and Jerry were tickling her sides, and Fitz wouldn't let her get away. He was covering all three of them so he started his attack on the kids again. Their laughter was boisterous, and could be heard from the hallway right outside where Tom and Hal were standing guard. Cyrus was walking towards them and he heard the noise.

"What's going on in there?" He was going to just walk in, but the agents blocked his path. "What are you doing?" Cyrus questioned them.

"President Grant is spending some time with his children, and he does not want to be bothered" Tom improvised.

"Well, President Grant needs to get back to work, he just came here for a tie" Cyrus argued, but the agents didn't move.

"He just wanted a few minutes, he'll be out soon" Tom added. Cyrus was getting angry, he couldn't believe he was being denied access, and he got suspicious. He huffed, and turned around, but he didn't leave. Tom, quickly got his phone out and texted Fitz. Cyrus got his phone out and called Olivia, when she didn't pick up she called Abby.

"Miss Whelan, where is Olivia?" He said as soon as Abby answered the call, she knew something was up.

"Working, because I don't know if you heard, but there's a party this evening" Abby said sarcastically.

"She's working?"

"Yes"

"Can you put her on?"

"Why didn't you just call her"

"She didn't answer, just put her on"

"Not at the moment"

"Well aren't you with her"

"No, she sent me to get her computer. What is this? 20 questions?" Abby needed to hang up to warn Liv.

"Fine, whatever I have to go" He hung up the phone and Abby texted Liv about the situation.

Fitz stopped the tickle assault when he felt his phone buzzing repeatedly, Tom had texted several times when Fitz didn't reply right away. Just as he was checking the texts, Liv's phone buzzed too, and she quickly reached for it.

"Cyrus" both of them said at the same time.

"I should go, I'll see you guys later" He ruffled the kids hair and gave Olivia an apologetic look.

"I better call him"

"Yeah" Fitz rushed to get his clean tie and left her with the kids.

Olivia quickly dialed Cyrus' number, he picked up on the first ring.

"What is so urgent that you have to call Abby and demand to talk to me" Cyrus wasn't expecting that, and he really had no valid reason for it.

"It's just… this guy… a journalist who writes trash about the President was here and I wanted to know why"

"Who is he, I can fix that right now" Olivia knew he was lying.

"It's fine, wasn't him, false alarm" He hastily replied.

"Ok then I should get back to work, goodbye Cyrus" She finally hung up and went back to the kids.

"Is uncle Cy still giving you trouble?" Karen asked, seeing how the mood had changed so abruptly.

"A little bit"

"I don't like him when he's mean" Jerry said with a pout.

"It's ok, he's just stubborn, he'll come around eventually, that's why we don't want him to know anything just yet, to give him time to process"  
"Hmm… ok"

"So where are those works of art you want to show me" The kids quickly forgot about Cyrus and started talking about their art projects. Fitz came back with three different ties.

"Which one?" He asked Olivia.

"Middle one" She replied.

"I knew I was gonna pick wrong" He laughed. "Gotta go now" He tossed the other two ties, and walked outside as he tried to fix the new tie on his neck.

"So are those Santa hats?" She directed her attention back to the kids.

"Yeah we used cotton balls for the fluffy parts" Karen said proudly.

"We made trees and snowflakes, and they let us use all the glitter we wanted" Jerry showed her his work.

Both kids were really enjoying Liv's attention, their mother never cared about anything they did, she never once showed interest in things they did at school. They had Fitz, who had really changed after the nanny incident, but hanging out with Liv made them wonder if that was like to have a mother that cared.

* * *

Olivia was not able to go back to the residence for dinner, but it wasn't because of work, it was because Cyrus was hovering. Once the old man left Fitz at his next meeting he started meddling. Fitz was held up longer than he anticipated and much to his despair the kids ended up having dinner with their nanny.

He knew his job was unpredictable, so he couldn't really be upset about it, however he could be upset that his children could have enjoyed a nice dinner with Olivia if it wasn't because Cyrus was a pest. Fitz knew he had to do something about it, but still thought it was too soon to let people inside their bubble.

A little after 8 it was time for him to join the party, so he took the kids and got ready for the show. The cake cutting went great, everyone sang happy birthday, the kids blew out the candles with him and everyone seemed happy. Everyone but Olivia, who had Cyrus breathing down her neck the whole time. After the nanny took the kids back to the residence, Fitz stood there like a Disney Character at Walt Disney World and posed for endless photos.

After it was all over Olivia was planning to go to the residence with him for a bit, but Cyrus very kindly offered to walk her out. Much to Fitz's relief aside from being annoying, he wasn't trying to scare Olivia away. The old man had thought about it, but quickly realized it could really backfire on him because he knew they still needed her to keep the President's approval rates up.

"Hi there" He answered on the first ring, she called him as soon as she got home.

"Hi"

"So… the evening took a weird turn"

"Yeah, Cyrus just wouldn't leave me alone, you think he suspects something?" She voiced with concern.

"It's a possibility… did he say anything?"

"No, he was just far too interested in my whereabouts and my work"

"I'll keep an eye on him"

"Do you think he will loose it when we tell him" He liked the way she said we, it brought a smile to his face. "I mean considering how he reacted when he found out about when we met" she added.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with him, and he better behave, after all he works for me I'm the damn President he can't tell me what to do" he said with confidence. "I'll show him who's the boss"

"Ok Mister Commander in Chief" She said with fake seriousness, earning a hearty laugh from him "I'm going to sleep now, I have a busy day tomorrow, I'm learning how to play xbox"

"Oh boy, that's a big deal, you better get some rest" he laughed and then both of them stayed quiet for a moment. "Goodnight Liv"

"Goodnight Fitz" After a few more moments of silence they both hung up.

* * *

The next morning Olivia woke up early and started getting ready for her day, she was going to the White House before lunch and she was going to stay there all day. She was getting her clothes from the closet when she saw the half packed suitcase for the holidays and remembered she had to call her mom.

"Good morning mom" She said when Camille answered the phone.

"Hey sweetheart, are you ready for the trip? Did something happen?" She just knew something was up.

"Yes, I'm ready and no, nothing happened, well nothing major" Olivia started to explain.

"But" Her mother said before she continued.

"I still have quite a few things to wrap up at work so, I won't be leaving until Tuesday morning" She braced herself for her mother reaction, but it didn't happen.

"Oh well, It's expected, you just started your business, it's a blessing it's doing so well" This time Olivia was worried, it was not normal for her mom to be so mellow.

"Yeah, it is, so is everything ok over there?" She asked.

"All good, you know your dad he can't stay still, today it's poker with his buddies"

"What about you?"

"Oh just the usual, we've been getting a lot done for the new community center. There's this new volunteer, a very nice young man, he's also very handsome, you would like him" And there it was, Olivia thought, that's why her mother was acting weird.

"Mom you are not thinking of setting me up with someone right?" Her mom was quiet for too long.

"I wouldn't put it that way, but you should at least meet him, he's a sweetheart"

"Mom, please, how would that even work I live in DC remember" She kept quiet about the other reason she couldn't date that guy.

"Liv, just give it a shot, it's been too long since you dated anyone, you are all work" Her mom insisted.

"Mom, I'm fine, I don't need you to get me a man, please stop ok? I have to go, I'll see you in a few days"

"All right child, all right, take care of yourself, I love you"

"Love you too mom, bye" She hung up the phone and rubbed her temples, and she wondered how much of that conversation to tell Fitz.

* * *

Fitz and the kids were cooking lunch when she arrived at the White House. The kids insisted on grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and he agreed because it was something simple enough they could cook with him. Liv was greeted by Tom and Hal and told to go meet them in the kitchen.

"Hey guys" She greeted them.

"Hey, beautiful" Fitz walked to her and kissed her cheek.

"Hi Liv" Karen said, followed by a hi from Jerry. "We are making lunch"

"I can see that, need any help?" Olivia asked as she took off her jacket.

"I dunno, I think we almost done" Jerry answered.

"Yes, we are so just sit tight and prepare to taste the best grilled cheese sandwiches you've ever had" Fitz declared proudly.

"Fine" She sat at the kitchen island for a moment just watching them. "How about something to drink? Maybe some lemonade? I can do that" Fitz gave her a look "You know I can't just sit and do nothing"

"Ok, if you insist, there's concentrate in the fridge" He then went and retrieved a pitcher from a cabinet.

"You can use this" He handed her the pitcher.

In the next few minutes everything was ready, they were going to take it to the dining room but decided to stay in the kitchen.

"These really are great grilled cheese sandwiches" Liv conceded.

"Best you've ever had?" Jerry asked, and Olivia nodded, which earned big smiles from both kids.

"You two are great cooks" She said two on purpose to tease Fitz.

"What about me?" Fitz complained, and Olivia stifled a laugh.

"Oh I'm sure you were a great assistant" She tried hard no to laugh at the face he made, but only succeeded for a few seconds before bursting out.

"Oh ok, so this is how we are playing" He said in a low voice, he was sitting next to her so only she heard him.

"I don't know what you are talking about" She feigned innocence, and gave him a sweet smile.

Before their conversation took a completely different tone, the kids started talking about the things they had planned to do with Liv. They started talking about the movie they had picked and the games they chose for the xbox lesson. Both of them were really excited and Fitz couldn't be happier, he hadn't seen them so happy in a long time.

Even though it had been for the best, the divorce still hit them hard, and more so because their mother had completely disappeared from their lives. In the eight months since she had left, she hadn't seen the kids at all, and only called on their birthdays. She had completely abandoned them, and it affected them a lot. It wasn't like she had been there so much before the divorce, but they didn't realize how little she cared until she left.

They only asked questions in the first few weeks, they were expecting weekend visits or holidays with her, they knew how divorce worked for kids because of friends from school. They weren't really looking forward to it, but they were expecting it. Fitz talked to his ex-wife about it and never got a concrete answer, and since he didn't want her around them anyway he didn't insist. He ended up trying to sugarcoat it, telling them she was busy getting settled, and that it would be discussed after she got her life together. Neither of them said anything again but Fitz knew they were hurting, so it meant a great deal for him to see them so happy.

After lunch they all headed to the game room, where they watched the Lego Movie, and later the kids gave her a choice between Disney Infinity and Lego Batman to start with the xbox. She went for Lego Batman because of the movie. At first they showed her the ropes, then they made teams to play because only two people could play at a time. She teamed up with Jerry and Fitz teamed up with Karen.

They played for quite a while until it was time for dinner. It was a simple meal of grilled chicken and pasta, afterwards the four of them watched tv for a little while until it was time for the kids to go to bed. After Fitz read them a story and got them tucked in he went back to Liv for some grown up time with a bottle of red wine.

"Fun day huh" He told her after he sat on the couch next her. He opened the bottle and filled both glasses.

"It really was" She agreed.

"I can't believe it's almost christmas, it feels like thanksgiving was just yesterday, and yet so much has changed" He gazed at her lovingly.

"Couldn't agree more" He took her hand and interlocked his fingers with hers. "I called my mom"

"Is she mad you are delaying your trip"

"She was actually pretty cool about it"

"Really?"

"Yeah, which I found really odd, turns out she had ulterior motives" Fitz looked confused. "She was telling me about the community center she volunteers for" Olivia stopped suddenly doubting her decision to tell him.

"And?"

"It seems like she has found me a lovely gentleman suitor" Fitz was briefly shocked by what he heard, and he couldn't help the jealousy creeping up inside him. He was aware Olivia had nothing to do with it, nor did she even know the guy, but still he just could not help it. He stayed quiet unsure of what to say. "I told her to not even think about it" She quickly added. He was relieved but not completely.

"Ok"

"Fitz it's nothing, she just worried because, well I hadn't dated in a while and she says I work too much… I contemplated telling her she doesn't have to worry anymore, but I didn't feel ready for the interrogation that was sure to follow, besides I wasn't sure if we were telling people, or still keeping it a secret"

"Fair enough, I haven't told my parents either, rather do it in person, and I also wanted to ask you if it was ok with you that I tell them about us" He knew he had no reason to be upset, but it was awful to think she could be whisked away from him by some guy.

"Well not everyone but we can tell our families, and also you know, my sister and Abby already know"

"And my kids and agents" He chuckled. Olivia looked down at her glass of wine.

"So… what are we telling our families?" He was confused for a moment, but he soon caught what she was implying.

"I was planning on telling them I have a girlfriend… Is that ok?"

"Yeah, that's ok" She gave him a sheepish grin.

Fitz just stared at her and smiled too, he couldn't even find the words to describe how happy he felt. He put his glass on the coffee table and then took hers to put on the table too. He scooted closer to her and gently cupped her face.

"Miss First Girlfriend, may I kiss you"

"Yes you may Mr. President" He slowly brushed his lips against her, he started with soft pecks and slowly deepened the kiss.

He moved his hands down her back to pull her closer to him, Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck at first, then she started running her hands through his hair, he let out a soft moan. He slowly moved, then in one swift motion he pulled Olivia down to pin her to the couch. He looked at her through hooded eyes, full of lust. He only broke contact with her mouth to place soft kisses on her neck, when he reached her ears he realized he found a very sensitive spot as Olivia's breath hitched. Fitz continued his assault, and turned back his attention to her lips, he was in awe of the way she made him feel, he had never felt such passion and need for anyone before.

He could feel himself loosing control, and she wasn't doing anything to stop him. Olivia's brain had gone to mush pretty much since they started making out, but she truly lost any trace of self control after he found her sweet spot behind her ear. She knew they had to stop before it was too late, but she just couldn't find her will. She hadn't lost her bearings so fast with any other guy she dated, or felt such passion, not even with her 5 year boyfriend who she thought was the one for a long time.

Before either of them could find enough will power to slow things down, his phone started ringing loudly. Fitz was so startled he dropped the phone trying to get it out of his pants, when he sat up to retrieve it from the floor Olivia quickly sat up too and nervously smoothed her clothes. The call had gone to voicemail, but it started ringing again.

"Ugh" Fitz groaned seeing the called id. "What the hell Cyrus?"

"I was just notified of an article that will come out on an important magazine on Monday and-" Fitz interrupted him.

"You called me about an article, are you fucking kidding me right now, I thought there was an international crisis or something. Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?" He was pissed and seriously wondering if Cyrus had some sort of radar to find the right moment to be inconvenient.

"Yes, this is a big deal, is the first positive piece written about you in a very long time"

"This is not a good time Cyrus" He interrupted again

"Why? What are you even doing, aren't your children in bed already" Fitz cursed in his head.

"Yes, and I was trying to do the same, I have a splitting headache" He told Cyrus the first excuse he could think of, and being honest that call was giving him a headache.

"Oh ok" He wasn't fully convinced

"We can continue this conversation on Monday" Fitz suggested.

"Why not tomorrow?" Cyrus inquired.

"Because I'm hoping to have a calm and relaxed day, and this is not that important" Fitz took a deep calming breath. "Just stop thinking about me for five minutes, go enjoy your husband, do some gardening, whatever besides calling me unless it's an emergency"

"Fine, whatever" Cyrus finally conceded "I'll se you Monday morning"

"Goodbye Cyrus" Fitz hung up his phone, and immediately turned it off.

"Cyrus does have great timing" Olivia said after a few moments of silence. Fitz chuckled.

"I was thinking maybe he has some sort of sixth sense or a radar"

"It's getting late, I think I should get going"

"So soon?" Fitz pouted, and also he wanted to strangle Cyrus for spoiling the mood.  
"I've been here all day" Olivia countered.

"Hmm… Still not enough time" He declared.

"I really should go, I know you were just trying to get Cyrus off your back, but you really should get some rest, you barely ever get a good nights sleep, and I'm actually pretty tired too." Fitz was tempted to asked to stay, but decided against it, he didn't want to push her limits.

"All right, but will you come over tomorrow?" He paused, but before she could answer he got a better idea "Wait no, how does tomorrow sound for our second official date?" Olivia paused for a moment, as if she was thinking about it.

"I think… it sounds great" He broke into a huge grin "Will you tell me this time what we are doing, so I can plan my outfit"

"I don't know, I wouldn't want to miss another dress like the one you wore last time"

"Fitz!" She playfully swatted his arm.

"Ok, ok I'll tell you, I was thinking dinner and a movie, and a ton of ice cream, since you said it sounded fun"

"Ah yes, and you said you would keep it in mind for our second date" She thought it was sweet. "It sounds nice"

"And we can watch a grown up movie, with actual people in it"

"That's good, but to be honest I have enjoyed the movies we have watched with the kids. Do you have any movie in mind?"

"I actually do"

"But you won't tell me"

"Nope, I've already said too much"

"Ok, I can live with that. I should go now, will you walk me out?"

"Why yes, of course I will"

As they walked out he reached for her hand, it was a quiet walk; Tom and Hal kept their distance and tried to make as little noise as possible. They held hands through the halls of the White House in peaceful bliss. Fitz gave her a chaste goodnight kiss when she was ready to leave and asked her to text her when she got home. He went back to the residence and got ready for bed as he waited for her text, he wished the hours would go by faster so he could see her again.

When Olivia got home she promptly texted Fitz, and he replied with a goodnight and kiss emojis, she replied with a similar text and got ready for bed. She missed him even though she had just left his house, and wished she had taken him up on his offer to keep his pj's.

They both drifted off to sleep thinking of the other.


	10. Chapter 10

_**AN: I know, I know, it's been ages. I swear I wanted to update sooner, but I just couldn't. Hope you guys enjoy it :)**_

* * *

Sunday morning Olivia was feeling great, she didn't even mind her sister's call to tease her. Emily was leaving to go see their parents that morning. Olivia had to make her swear that she would keep her mouth shut. Emily begrudgingly accepted, but deep down she knew it was better for her sister not to be thrown into the wolves before she was even there.

Liv started packing for her trip, and catching up on her household chores. Since she had been spending all her free time with Fitz, she had a ton to do. Their date was at 7, Fitz texted her he would pick her up at 6:30, she originally thought she would be driving, so she was mildly surprised. The surprise wore off soon though, considering she knew him well enough, and should have expected it anyway.

Fitz was supervising the drawing of christmas cards, the kids wanted to give them to their grandparents, uncle, and to Olivia. Then he had to oversee packing for their trip to visit his parents.  
He was also thinking about wether he should give Olivia her Christmas gift that afternoon, or wait until after the holidays. It was truly a bummer for him that they had to spend the holidays apart, after all it would be their first christmas as a couple; however he was also aware of how complicated things would get for the both of them if he changed the plans. He couldn't really ditch his parents and she couldn't either, and to top it off they would be literally on opposite sides of the country.

The day went by pretty fast, and before they knew it, it was time for their date. Olivia chose a casual outfit of jeans, a nice sweater, and boots. Fitz was rearing dark blue jeans, and a light blue shirt, he knew she liked it when he wore blue. His agents had everything prepared for him to go pick Olivia up. Once again she got ready with enough time, and just relaxed watching tv until he arrived. Unlike the previous time, she wasn't nervous or anxious, just happy and excited.

When Fitz knocked on her door she practically jumped out of her seat, and ran for the door. She missed him a lot more than she was willing to admit. The minute he laid eyes on her, he broke into a huge grin. They just stood at the door smiling at each other like lovestruck teenagers. Despite seeing each other every day, and that they weren't going out of the White House, there was some level of excitement at the prospect of an actual date.

"Hello beautiful" He greeted her with a quick peck on the lips. "Here" he handed her a bouquet of white lilies.

"Thank you, I love lilies, come in. I'll just put these in water, and then we can leave" Olivia, Fitz, and of course Tom, walked inside her apartment.

It didn't feel awkward like the first time, so he took a seat on the couch and Tom stood close to the door trying not to disturb the mood. Olivia returned with a vase and placed it on her coffee table. Afterwards, she got her coat, and purse so they could leave. Fitz swiftly got up, and helped her get her coat on. He offered his hand to her, and she gladly took it. A lot had changed since their first date. They were both a lot more comfortable with each other.

The ride to the White House was quick, they chatted for a little bit. He told her about packing for the holidays, and she told him about her neglected house chores. The conversation was simple, and trivial, yet it meant a lot to Olivia how normal it felt, the fact that they could share even the most insignificant aspects of their lives, and enjoy it just for being with each other. It was moments like that which showed both of them that they were building something real, and lasting.

"So I got chef Cooper to make a bunch of different ice creams, and a few other classic movie treats" He said proudly as they walked towards the Family theater. "I think he even made snickers bars"

"You had your chef make homemade versions of movie snacks?" she asked incredulously.

"He volunteered. He said he could make them way better than the store bought kind"

"Well then, I can't wait to try them"

They walked inside the theater, and Fitz told her to pick any seat she preferred. A few minutes later Chef Cooper, and a couple of waiters arrived pushing carts with all sorts of homemade "junk" food. Olivia marveled at the chocolate bars, cookies, cupcakes, and mini donuts. He smiled to himself knowing he made the right menu choice.

"Miss pope, may I offer you an ice cream cone… or waffle bowl" Cooper offered.

"What kinds do you have?"

"We have moose tracks, rocky road, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie dough, and caramel praline"

"Okay, I think I'll start with strawberry cheesecake, and caramel praline on a waffle bowl"

"Coming right up, what about you Mr. President"

"I'll have some rocky road, on a cone, two scoops please" Cooper nodded and got busy with their orders.

"I think I'll have a sugar hangover tomorrow morning"

"It's not just sweets, there's also popcorn, pigs in a blanket, nachos… there was something else" Fitz hesitated.

"Pizza" Cooper finished for him.

"So forget the sugar crash, I guess I'll roll out of here into the hospital for an angioplasty"

Fitz laughed heartily. "I just wanted there to be options, like it would be on an actual theater… since we can't go out and all" He suddenly got a little too serious. He couldn't shake the feeling, that she was missing out on things for being with him, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Fitz" Olivia took a hold of his hand. "The company is way more important than the place"

Fitz gave her a faint smile, and brought her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss on it. Cooper stood quietly, and awkwardly, holding their ice cream while they shared their little moment. That was of course until he felt the first drop of melted ice cream land on his hand. He cleared his throat, and the happy couple was brought back to reality.

Both of them went to take their seats, and one of the waiters brought over a tray with the savory snacks, and a couple of glasses of wine. After that Fitz gave the signal for the movie to start. The lights dimmed, and the screen came to life. Olivia still had no idea what movie they were watching, but when the initial credits rolled in, and she was pleasantly surprised. They were going to watch Beyond the Lights.

"This movie just came out" She said in amazement.

"I know, being President has it's perks" He smiled smugly.

Fitz draped his arm around her shoulders in a very teenage date type of way. Olivia had her eyes fixed on the screen, but he just couldn't stop looking at her. Eventually she turned towards him, and smiled.

"You know there's a movie going on in here"

"I know, but you are so much prettier to look at" He started leaning in for a kiss, but she moved.

"None of that mister, I actually want to watch the movie. If you wanted to just make out you should have picked a movie I have watched already" Her answer made him laugh.

"I'll keep it in mind" Fitz decided to try and pay attention to the movie, but wasn't sure he'd accomplish it.

* * *

They walked up to the residence holding hands, he knew it was getting late but he wanted a little more time with her. She was leaving on Tuesday, and the next day if they got too busy they might not even see each other. He had decided to have a little late christmas celebration when they both returned to DC, so he would wait until then to give her the gift.

"So did you like it?" He asked.

"I loved it, it's a great movie" She replied with a smile.

"Good, but next time I'm picking a boring one so we can make out the whole time" That earned him a playful slap on the arm.

"Fitz!" She chastised him.

"What?" He feigned innocence. "You suggested it"

Olivia laughed and they continued their walk. After they arrived at the residence he opened another bottle of wine and poured two glasses. They sat by the fireplace, and just chatted about the upcoming holidays. She mentioned how much of a bummer it was that she would not see him for such a long time, so he took it as his cue to suggest the late Christmas celebration. Olivia loved the idea. She had bought his gift already, but she didn't have it yet, so the extra time was good for her.

After about an hour Olivia's eyes seemed to be getting heavy. The combination of the late hour, excess sugar, and the wine, were making her extremely sleepy. Again he nearly suggested she stayed, but he didn't want there to be any issues right before they separated for a while. Olivia knew he nearly asked her to stay, and was grateful he didn't. A part of her wanted to, but she felt she wasn't ready for it. She didn't want anything to put their relationship at risk.

Fitz wrapped his arms around Olivia on their way to her place, and she dozed off pretty much after they left the White House. He was about to gently wake her up, but decided to carry her up instead. It was trickier than he thought because she had been leaning on him. He somehow managed to have her leaning into the seat so he could leave the car, and then take her out. He realized she must have been exhausted not to wake up with all that.

While on the elevator Tom fished around her purse for her keys. He opened the door for them and stayed in the living room. The rest of the agents stayed outside. Fitz took her to the room he assumed was hers. The door was open, and there were clothes on the bed. He laid her down slowly and then proceeded to remove the items from her bed, he threw it all on a chair before returning to put a blanket over her.

He had never been in her room so he hoped she wouldn't be upset. Fitz found a pad of paper on her nightstand, and wrote her a note that read "Goodnight sleeping beauty. Call me in the morning" He softly caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead, and walked towards the door. But before he left, he turned around to get one last look at her, and thanked his lucky stars once again for bringing her to his life.

* * *

Fitz went home, and before he got ready for bed he went to check on his sleeping children. Once he had repositioned blankets, and adjusted stuffed animals he went back to his room. He had just gotten in bed when his phone started ringing loudly. He cursed and mentally prepared himself to yell at Cyrus. Only it wasn't Cyrus, it was his brother James.

"Jim is everything ok?" Fitz asked, his voice laced with sleep.

"Man are you sleeping? It's barely 11" James mocked him.

"I have an exhausting job" Fitz spat back.

"Whatever old man"

"Is there a reason you called"

"Right yeah… Mom and Dad are going on a cruise"

"What" Fitz said suddenly awake.

"Just talked to them, they might be trying to call you right now. Apparently it was spur of the moment they just thought hey let's do something different, ditch the kids"

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack, they said we can still go to Cali, escape the cold, but I don't know it will just be us. I could go to you, or you could come here. Or hell we could go to Disney World for all they care"

"Wait you are serious"

"Yeah, though Disney World might be tricky for you cause security, but maybe I can take the kids to the park, and you can stay in the room"

"James!" Fitz said to get his brother's attention. Once the line was silent he spoke again. "So mom, and dad are just leaving, why didn't their agents tell me? And why? Christ it was all set up, and I really don't want to stay here."

"Probably wanted to tell you themselves, I said I couldn't promise anything"

"God I could've made plans with her and… wait a minute no this isn't at all bad. How didn't I think of this before, well because I had plans, but this works great. It's like faith"

"Junior!" James said loudly. "First of all, explain yourself, and second did you say her?"

"Right sorry, so yeah I'll explain later I have to hmm… arrange things. We are coming to you, I'll call tomorrow"

"No wait, don't you dare leave me hanging, there is a her? When did this happen?"

"I have to go now-"

"Don't you dare, if you hang up i'll tell mom and dad" That was enough to get Fitz to reconsider.

"Fine. I have a girlfriend, and you will get to meet her… if mom and dad don't hear a word until they are back"

"Fine" James agreed.

"Fine" Fitz repeated and hung up. Sometimes having a little brother could be quite a hassle, even as grown ups.

Fitz immediately got out of bed to find Tom so they could coordinate a whole new holiday plan in 48 hours. They knew it wouldn't suit well with the secret service, but he wasn't just going to California if his parents weren't there, and waste an opportunity to surprise his girlfriend. James lived in Montpelier, and her family lived in South Burlington, so it was just a 40 mile drive.

He had moved there after spending a few years on doctors without borders, he liked to stay out of the spotlight, and anything concerning politics. Big Jerry, and Fitz did their best to keep him out of it, and just let him have his life. However when Fitz decided to run for president they thought it could be a security issue for him to be in remote, and sometimes hostile places. So James decided to move to a small town, lay low, and help people in a different way.

The Secret Service was a little thrown with the change of plans, but they couldn't really say no to their boss, they just had to make it work. James lived in a nice neighborhood, and his house was secluded enough to make it work. They had to contact local law enforcement, and also the mayor, they had to make sure everyone knew this was not meant to be public. It was just a trip to visit family for the holidays.

The other part of the plan was a little trickier. They had to dig up information about her entire family, and make sure they could work security around her parents house without causing much trouble. Fitz wanted it to be a surprise so he couldn't really call her to work out a plan, but he knew someone else who would be on board with it. It was late so he decided to wait until the morning to keep planning.

* * *

Emily was enjoying being spoiled by pretty much everyone. Being nearly 8 months pregnant no one allowed her to do anything. She didn't even have to finish a sentence before someone brought a snack, a cup of tea, or hot chocolate. That morning Harrison brought up breakfast for her before joining her dad for some errands. Reality TV while eating in bed was her new hobby, and in the middle of a very interesting housewife fight her phone started ringing.

"What!" She answered clearly annoyed at being interrupted, and thinking it was Harrison or her sister.

"Good morning Emily" Fitz said politely. The line was silent for a moment. She recognized his voice immediately.

"Oh my God… uh… sorry" She felt really flustered, it was the first time she talked to him, and she just had to answer the phone so rudely. "I thought it was someone else…"

"Is Harrison in trouble?" Fitz chuckled.

"No" She laughed too "I was just, never mind, is there anything I can help you with?"

"As a matter of fact there is, what do you think about me surprising your sister for Christmas"

The next thing he heard was Emily squealing happily, and clapping her hands. Needless to say she loved the idea. During the next half hour they discussed about his plans, and bounced ideas off of each other. Harrison was the only one to possibly know about it, Liv would be in the dark until he showed up, and Emily said she'd make sure they had some time alone before dropping the bomb on her parents.

After Fitz hung up he had another meeting with the secret service to hash out the details on the second part of his holiday vacation. He also had to call James, and let him know what they would be doing. Emily assured him it was fine to bring his brother, she said it was better for the family to start getting to know each other.

Law enforcement, and city manager in South Burlington also had to be notified, it was a hassle, but the best way to ensure he got the help needed to keep his visit away from prying eyes. He had to make sure all of them knew not to make a fuss about it, and that he was just there for personal matters, and no political agenda whatsoever. As far as the public knew he was going to California to visit his parents, and he hoped to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Olivia was going to visit in the afternoon, and he wanted to wait until she left to tell the kids about the new plans. He didn't want them to get too excited and end up telling her about it. Liv spent her morning packing, and then making peppermint bark with her grandma's special recipe. She wanted to give some to Fitz, the kids, and also Lauren, and his agents. Everything was pretty much wrapped up at the office so she had the whole afternoon to spend with him.

* * *

Fitz was finishing some things at his office when Olivia arrived, he was notified, and promptly dismissed Cyrus. His chief of staff wasn't thrilled, but he said his kids needed help with something. At that point he believed the universe was on his side, the stars had aligned for his relationship with Olivia to still be a secret from Cyrus. It was almost a miracle that the old man was still in the dark.

After the holiday break, he planned to tell him about it. He felt there was no point in a potentially creating an issue, when they would be apart for some time. The situation had changed, but he wanted to keep the peace, and carry on with his Christmas surprise, without Cyrus being a pest. Also, he had already agreed with Olivia to wait until they returned, and he couldn't change those plans without spoiling his surprise.

Fitz still felt it was too soon to burst their bubble, he still feared Cyrus could make her want to run far from him. He thought the old man was perfectly capable of causing unnecessary bumps in their budding relationship. He just thought that having met her family, and spent more time together, would make it harder for Cyrus to do anything.

"Hello beautiful" He greeted Olivia and leaned down for a quick kiss. "What are you guys up to?"

"We were just deciding what to have for dinner" Jerry answered.

"And what's the verdict?" He inquired

"Chicken tenders, and mashed potatoes" Karen said with a smile.

"And steamed vegetables" Olivia added, and laughed when the kids scrunched up their noses.

After dinner the kids brought out a Jenga, they had recently discovered it, and were slightly obsessed with it. It had brought them some good laughs. While the kids reassembled the tower that Jerry had just knocked down, Liv and Fitz talked about their upcoming plans. He said there had been some changes in his plans, and that he would see his brother before seeing his parents. That was all he said, and it wasn't a lie so he felt ok with it.

Olivia said she would arrive in the middle of Christmas Eve craze at her parent's house. Besides her parents, and siblings, there was more family that some times spent the holidays with them. Her paternal grandparents would be there, as well as her mother's sister, her daughter, and her son with his wife and two little kids. She said her mom loved having them over because she was desperate for grandchildren.

Fitz said that his parents loved Karen, and Jerry, but were itching for more. He said they never missed a chance to ask James if he planned to settle down ever, and that he had been off the hook for a while, but his parents had started hinting he should give it another shot, and give his kids a few siblings. Olivia locked eyes with him, and knew exactly what he was thinking, and blushed when she caught herself imagining how their kids would look like.

They started a new game, and Fitz was in the middle of a very complicated piece removal when someone barged into the room.

"You are screwing her! What the hell are you two thinking! Have you lost your mind?" Cyrus bellowed.

Fitz had knocked over the tower when Cyrus first arrived, but he was still holding the wooden piece. He was trying his best not to loose his temper in front of his kids, and Olivia, so the game piece was taking the heat. He was sure that if he held it any tighter, he would turn it into splinters.

"Liv, can you please take the kids to either one of their rooms" He said as evenly as he could. "And stay with them please"

"Fitz" She tried to argue.

"Please" He pleaded.

"Come on guys" Olivia urged them of off the floor where they had been sitting. They looked scared, and upset, and she couldn't blame them. Cyrus looked like a mad man.

Once they left, Fitz waited for as long as he could to make sure they were out of earshot. He took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm down even if it was just a little bit. He thought it would probably look bad for a president to kill his chief of staff with his bare hands. Cyrus was huffing, waiting for an answer.

"Fitzger-" He didn't even finish saying his name before Fitz dropped the game piece, grabbed Cyrus from his shirt collar, and pushed him against the nearest wall.

"HOW DARE YOU COME INTO MY PRIVATE RESIDENCE, UNINVITED, SCARE MY CHILDREN, INSULT MY GIRLFRIEND, AND QUESTION MY PERSONAL LIFE" Fitz screamed in his face.

"Don't forget your place here" Fitz said in a lower, but very menacing tone.

"I am just-" Cyrus tried to explain.

"Shut the fuck up" Fitz still had a tight hold on his collar. "You are going to leave my house right now, not just the residence, but the White House. I cannot deal with you right now, so go home, think about wether or not you desire to keep your job, and call when you are ready to apologize"

Fitz finally released Cyrus.

"My agents will escort you out" Tom and Hal had rushed inside when they heard the screaming. Fitz stepped away, and they attempted to grab Cyrus by the arms to get him out, but he didn't allow it.

"I can walk myself out" He growled, as he began walking with Fitz's agents behind him.

"And Cyrus" Fitz said, causing him to turn around "If you ever do anything like this again… let's just say I won't be so kind"

Fitz left the game room to get himself a drink. He needed to calm down before he went back to his kids, and Olivia. He was still very angry, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset them even more. He downed the first glass of scotch like it was water, and he was nursing the second one when he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked him.

"I should be asking you that" He felt too embarrassed to look at her. "I'm sorry, I thought I had it under control"

"He was going to find out anyway" She said in an attempt to calm him down.

"Yes, but he had no right to come in here like that" He kept his eyes fixed on his glass. He felt guilty that she had to put up with such unpleasant situations because of who he was.

"Hey" She tried to get him to look at her.

"Are the kids okay?"

"Yes, I left them watching Willie Wonka"

"Good" He took another sip of his drink.

Olivia reached for his glass, and set it down on the counter. She took hold of both of his hands and made him turn towards her. He was looking down at his feet, so Olivia dropped one of his hands so she could caress his face. When his eyes finally met hers, she saw they were ridden with gilt.

"I am so sorry" He said, and tried to look away.

"Fitz please look at me" He reluctantly did "It's not your fault. I know Cyrus very well, I've known him for a very long time, and I'm aware of how awful he can be"

"He works for me"

"He does, but you can't blame yourself because he's an asshole. What are you so upset about? Please talk to me"

"It's just that… you have to put up with so many things because of who I am and… I'm afraid you'll eventually realize I'm not worth the trouble"

Olivia's heart shattered into a million pieces when she heard that last part. She let go of his other hand so she could place hers on either side of his face.

"Don't ever say that, again" Even though she was holding his face, he was looking down, avoiding her eyes.

"Fitz, I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to. I don't care what Cyrus or anyone else thinks. You are stuck with me"

Fitz finally locked eyes with her, and her gaze was warm, and kind. It was full of emotion, as if her eyes were trying to convey all those feelings that words couldn't properly express.

In that moment he was certain that she loved him too, and he was finally able to begin letting go of his fears. It wasn't the right moment to finally say it out loud, but it was definitely a very important moment in their relationship. Fitz rested his forehead against hers for a moment, before pulling her into a tight embrace.

Olivia rested her head in his chest, just above his heart. She could hear how his heartbeat was finally steadying, and hers did too. They stayed standing there in the kitchen just holding onto each other for a while, until she loosened her grip. He finally took a step back, but held onto one of her hands. He gave her a faint smile, and he smiled back.

"Come on, we wouldn't want to miss any more of Gene Wilders brilliant performance" Olivia pulled his hand, and they walked together to Karen's room.

She walked in ahead of him, and the kids immediately made room in the bed for her to sit. Olivia sat down, and tickled Jerry in the process. He laughed carelessly, and Fitz's heart swelled with joy. Fitz pulled up a chair so he could sit next to her, and once he did she reached for his hand. He brought up to his mouth, and placed a few gentle kisses on it.

While the kids, and Olivia were marveling at the world of everlasting gobstoppers, and fizzy lifting drinks, Fitz was marveling at the scene unfolding right next to him. He looked at his children, and the woman he loved, and couldn't help but imagine the possibilities, about the future, and all the things he wanted to share with her.

* * *

_**I just had to use Willy Wonka, it was so sad to hear about Gene Wilder. This year has taken too many people, even my grandfather fell victim to 2016. Anyway, please review, they make my day.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**AN: So this one didn't take that long right? Anyhow, it's finally Christmas, and things will get... pretty interesting. Hope you guys enjoy!**_

* * *

Olivia had an early flight on Tuesday morning, she texted Fitz when she boarded, and promised to text him when she landed. She was sad about not spending their first Christmas together, and on Monday night when she left the White House he pretended to be sad as well. His plan seemed to be going well. Authorities in both cities had been notified, and he was promised they would cooperate with anything he needed.

Emily had told him that his parents went to visit a really elderly couple on Christmas morning to deliver some food, and spend a little while with them. They had been doing that for a few years, because the Johnson's were pretty much all on their own. Emily didn't know the specifics, but she knew her parent's wanted to make sure they had a proper Christmas meal, and a little bit of company.

They visited them early on Christmas morning, when everyone else was still sleeping at their house. Emily told Fitz, that was his window, that way her parent's wouldn't be home and everyone else would still be asleep. Tuesday morning he got up early, and made sure everything was ready for their trip before he went to wake up the kids. Once they were all ready to go he sat them down to tell them the news.

"Guys there have been some changes to our holiday vacation" Fitz started "Grandma and Grandpa decided to go on a cruise"

"So they won't be there?" Karen said in disbelief.

"What are we gonna do then?" Jerry asked.

"Well, I came up with a pretty cool plan" Both kids looked at him expectantly "We are going to pay a surprise visit to Olivia"

"How?" Karen said

"What about uncle Jim?" Jerry exclaimed.

"We will be seeing him too, your uncle Jim, and her parents live like 40 miles away"

"That's so cool! I mean I wanted to see grandma and grandpa but still that's so cool" Karen said excitedly.

"We could play in the snow again right? It's pretty snowy over there isn't it?" Jerry seemed to like the new plans as well.

Fitz laughed, and patiently answered all their questions, and shared their excitement. They would be leaving before lunch, they would board marine one, have their photos taken, and then try to go off the grid. Air Force One would land at Westover Air Reserve Base, since landing at Burlington International airport would make his visit a bit harder to hide. Though Westover does share some space with a civilian airport it still offered more security.

An SUV and two unmarked cars would be taking him to his brother's house, one of them would keep a safe distance. It was a nearly 3 hour drive, but Fitz didn't want to draw attention to himself using a chopper. There were extra police officers in the area, and a group of agents would be arriving ahead of time to make sure everything was in order.

All agents going with Fitz on the trip would be staying at Jim's. His house was large, and with some inflatable mattresses they would make it work. The whole thing had been very rushed, and the agents were on edge, but Fitz was grateful for their efforts.

Keeping him safe wasn't actually the difficult part, what was being hard for them was to keep his visit out of the public eye. His usual motorcade, and security protocols weren't exactly inconspicuous. He was very aware that his plans to go unnoticed the whole time could to south any minute, because the priority for the agents was to keep him safe, even if that meant suddenly having the police put barricades on the streets.

Fitz knew how easily plans could be derailed, but he still hoped for the best. The last thing he wanted was for her family to be pestered by reporters, of for her life being turned upside down so soon in the relationship. It was bad enough that Cyrus knew about them already. At least he knew the old man wouldn't be telling anyone about it. Fitz, Karen, and Jerry smiled and waved at the crowd, excited for their impromptu Christmas adventure.

* * *

It was 10:15 when Olivia's plane landed in Burlington. After patiently waiting for her luggage she finally went to find her brother. Gabriel had been volunteered by their mom to go pick her up. He spotted her right away, and went over her to help with her bags.

"Are you moving back?" He said when he looked at all she was carrying.

"Shut up, It's mostly presents for everyone" She replied.

"So those gifts that Amazon delivered aren't for us or…" Gabriel laughed when Olivia slapped his arm.

"Whatever, so my package arrived like an hour ago right?" She asked.

"Yeah, and now you owe me a good story" Olivia rolled her eyes, and told him to start walking to the car.

As they walked to the car Olivia told him that she had a boyfriend, and that the package was his Christmas gift. She couldn't find it in the store in DC so she had to order it online. She didn't have it shipped to her house because she didn't want it to arrive when she wasn't there. She considered shipping it to her parents house but she didn't want to give explanations yet.

That left her brother's place, she thought it would arrive after Christmas even with expedited shipping, but when she got off the plane and checked her email she saw it had arrived already. They would go to his place so she'd have it already, before going back to her parent's. That way it gave them time for her to tell him about her new boyfriend.

Olivia wasn't sure about telling him yet that the guy was the President, so she bent the story of how they met a little bit. She told him he had kids, that they spent a lot of time together, and that she was happy with him. Problem was that a couple of times it was too obvious that she was about to say something, and then suddenly changed it. Gabe knew she was hiding something.

Her entire time with Fitz had something to do with his job, or the White House, both of their dates had been there. So everything she said was cut short, he brother was giving her a look, and she knew what he was thinking. Liv knew she could trust Gabriel, she always had, and Emily already knew, she just wanted to wait until she dropped the bomb on her parents.

"Gabe there's a little detail about him I haven't mentioned… it's about his job. Look just promise me you won't tell anything to mom, and dad. I just need some time" Olivia told him.

"Okay… fine I promise I won't say anything"

"He's…" She stopped.

"He's another politician isn't he" Gabriel said with bitterness. Olivia didn't say anything, after all he was a politician.

"Gabriel please don't judge him when you don't even know him" She said to him.

"Liv come on, those guys are all liars… I just can't"

"He's different Gabriel, and he's not just any politician" Liv argued.

"What do you mean not just any, he's some big shot? Even worse, probably some entitled prick"

"Gabriel! Stop that, show some respect" She scolded her brother.

"Respect? Who is he? The President?"

"Well, as a matter of fact he is. I'm dating President Fitzgerald Grant" Suddenly Gabe had nothing to say, they were pulling up at his driveway. He kept looking over at her like she was crazy.

"Are you joking?" He finally said.

"No I am not" She started looking for her iPod in her purse. She didn't keep photos of him on her phone for security reasons, but she had gotten an iPod just for that. She got it so she could show some photos to Emily, because she demanded to see them in exchange for her silence.

She unlocked the device, and swiped through the first photos of the album, that were just there so his face wouldn't be the first thing there. Maybe she was being a little paranoid, but then again he was the POTUS so no measure was too extreme. She finally found the photo she was looking for, it was a selfie in front of his Christmas tree, and he was kissing her cheek. Then she almost shoved the iPod on his face.

"Holy shit" He said when he saw the photo.

"So?"

"Maybe I did not see that one coming, but I still don't trust him, not until he proves he's, well you know trustable"

Olivia sighed, and just got out of the car in silence. Once they were in his living room he went to find the package. He handed it to her, and she carefully opened it to make sure it was all good. After a few more minutes of awkward silence, she realized she had to be the one to break it.

"I know what you are thinking, but he's a good man" She said to her brother.

"He does look pretty decent, and he's been looking better lately…" He paused for a moment "I'm guessing you had something to do with that"

"I did, but we weren't lying to anyone, I just helped him show everyone what kind of man he is, how good he is with his kids." Olivia smiled at the thought of him, and Gabriel realized his sister really had feelings for the President.

"God, you are so falling for him Liv… I just don't want you to get hurt again"

"I know, and I appreciate your concern, but I'm good, I'm happy, and I swear this is different. I can't really explain how, but I know him. I've never felt like this… I never felt like this with him… just trust me"

"Fine, I will give the man a chance. Are we gonna meet him soon?" He asked.

"I don't think so, he's spending the holidays with his parents in California"

"Okay then… Why don't you show me that gift you got him, it better be good I mean he is the President of this fine nation."

The mood was much lighter after that, and they just relaxed for a little bit before they left for their parent's house. They arrived just before lunch, her mom was thrilled to have all her kids at home. They had a simple lunch because Camille said she needed the kitchen free to prepare dinner early so she had time to get ready for church. They would be going to Christmas Eve service after dinner.

* * *

Air Force One landed at Westover a little after noon. Everything was ready to take them to Montpelier right way, the kids watched a movie on their tablets, and Fitz used that time for a nap. James had space for three cars in his garage, his car used one space, and his agent used the other one. His agent had taken the car out to fit the SUV, and one of the other cars inside. Fitz would go in, and out of the house through the garage.

James didn't have many neighbors, and they weren't close, also a lot of people had left town, so he hoped no one would even notice. He was on vacation since that day, so he decided to cook for his family. He was in the process of making mac n cheese from scratch when his agent, Evan, told him Fitz was arriving any second. He went to the garage to receive them, and after lots of hugs he gave them a tour of the house.

"Nice house" Fitz told his brother.

"Yeah I figured I'd put my trust fund into good use, since I'm guessing I'll be here at least 8 years" He replied, earning a smile from Fitz.

"It's pretty big"

"Yeah, you know I do want to have a family at some point. About half my neighbors are expecting me and my partner to bring home a baby any day" Fitz laughed out loud.

"What do you mean?"

"They aren't really buying the whole roommate deal, but it hasn't crossed anyone's mind that he's Secret Service so I'm good"

"I'm sorry I turned your life upside down, but I can't help worrying about my little brother"

"I know, I know… I'm actually enjoying the small town life, and I can help people here too"

"That's good"

"Yeah, so… how about you tell me about that girlfriend of yours while we cook, kids would you two like to help with the pizza" He said the last part louder for Karen and Jerry to hear.

They had been chasing each other around the house, and seemed excited to help with cooking. They told their that they had some pizza cooking experience because of Olivia, and that she had taught them a lot of things about cooking. Since Fitz wasn't so eager to talk, James kept asking the kids questions, and they pretty much told him everything there was to know.

* * *

Olivia's family returned from church around 9 pm. She was really missing Fitz, but she had a good time, and she got to see a lot of old friends she hadn't seen in a long time. When they got home they all sat down to watch It's a wonderful life with a cup of hot cocoa. Her nephews had gotten new pj's, and everyone else got a new tacky Christmas sweater. The kids left milk, and cookies for Santa, and fell asleep about halfway through the movie.

At James' house dinner was served around 7. They decided that since no parents were around, they didn't have to eat in the dinning room. They ate in the living room while watching home alone. The kids wanted to watch all of the movies, but after the first two Fitz reminded them they had to get up early. He also gave them the classic if you don't go to bed early Santa won't come. Fitz gave them their new Christmas pj's and tucked them in, before reading them a story.

Fitz went to bed almost too excited to sleep, he just couldn't wait to see her. Olivia on the other hand went to bed missing him more than she thought she would. A part of her wanted to just jump on the first flight to California, but she refrained herself thinking both of their parents would be very upset. Little did she know that she was about to receive one of the best Christmas presents of her life.

* * *

On Christmas morning Fitz got up really early, to get ready to go see Olivia. He went to get the kids, and dragged his exhausted brother out of bed. The kids ran out of their room to go see their gifts, but Fitz told them they had to load them in the car, and open them after they saw Olivia. They were relieved to see Santa liked their choice of cookies, and begrudgingly accepted to wait to open their presents.

The plan was to take the SUV, and one of the cars. The agents on the car would stay at a safe distance, only the SUV would actually be parked in the driveway. If anyone called the cops about the mysterious car, they already knew the President was there. There were also a few officers patrolling the area. Fitz hoped everything would go smoothly, it was a quiet neighborhood, and also a lot of people had left town.

As they got closer to her parent's house James realized that the neighborhood seemed familiar. He wasn't sure why until they were pulling up to their driveway. That's when it hit him, his eyes went wide and he turned to his brother.

"Hey man I kinda need to tell you something" He said hesitantly.

"Okay" Fitz said confused. The SUV had parked already, and he saw Emily poking her head out the front door, and motioning for him to come inside.

He was far too excited to pay attention to his brother, he made sure the kids were properly protected from the cold, and motioned to his agents that they were going in. As they walked towards the door James was trying to get his attention. When he didn't succeed he grabbed Fitz's arm and prevented him from walking any further.

"Dude!"

"What do you want, can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" Fitz said exasperated.

"Yes this is urgent… I…" Fitz rolled his eyes and tried to walk away "Remember I told you this lady from where I volunteer wants me to meet her daughter"

"Yes, I remember" Fitz suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Olivia, and feared where that was going.

"Well, I'm pretty sure she lives here" Fitz felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on his head.

"Are you kidding me?" He almost screamed.

"Unfortunately no… I've been here a few times"

"And you are telling me now?"

"I'm sorry, she never said her daughter's name, and you never said her last name, I didn't realize until now" James explained.

"Oh my God how didn't I see it, you told me she has a married daughter, a son, and Olivia told me her mom wanted her to meet someone she volunteered with… I'm an idiot" Fitz rubbed his temples.

"In all fairness, this is one weird coincidence, it wouldn't have crossed my mind either"

"I can't believe my future in laws already like you better"

"What are you doing out there?" Emily stepped outside. "We have limited time!"

"Right" Fitz took a deep breath, and walked towards the door.

He tried to push the issue away from his thoughts. He was about to see Olivia, and that was all that mattered. When her parents returned they'll figure it out. Fitz received a warm welcome by Emily, and Harrison. She guided them to the living room, and told them to stand by the tree. The room was large, and beautifully decorated. Emily told them to stay put while she went to find Olivia. They began hearing people coming down the stairs, Olivia groaned making Fitz smile.

"Emily it's too early, mom and dad aren't even home you know we can't open any of the gifts yet" She complained.

"Shh, just trust me, this is a special one, and believe me it's better that they are not home" Emily told her.

Olivia was still complaining when they reached the living room. She gasped, and was suddenly frozen on the spot. Emily quietly left to find Harrison and James.

"Merry Christmas" said Fitz, and the kids, in unison.

"Oh my God… what are you… I thought…" She struggled to put a sentence together.

"Grandma, and grandpa are on a cruise" Karen said

"So we came here" Jerry added.

"Surprise" Fitz gave her a cheeky smile.

Olivia smiled back at him, and finally unfroze. Before he realized she was in front of them, she hugged the kids first, and Fitz wrapped his arms around the three of them. When he stepped back a bit, she looked up at him dreamily. She just couldn't believe how amazing he was, she was almost overcome with emotion. He locked his eyes with her, and brought his hand up to caress her face.

Karen and Jerry looked up, and then exchanged a knowing look. They knew they better leave before they saw something disgusting. When they stepped away, Liv snapped back to reality.

"This is a very nice surprise guys" She told them.

"We are glad you like it" Jerry said "It's awesome to see you, but you guys get gross sometimes so…"

"Emily said something about cookies" Karen said excitedly.

As if on cue Harrison walked into the living room. Emily had everything planned, so she had sent him to get the kids.

"Someone said cookies?" They all laughed and they followed him to the kitchen.

Fitz, and Olivia stood there in silence for a moment, she was looking at the ground, still to shocked to say anything. He took the step to close the distance between them, he placed one hand in the small of her back, and used the other one to gently lift her chin. Their faces were inches apart, she could feel his breath on her face.

"Merry Christmas beautiful" he practically whispered into her lips, and unable to wait any longer he captured her lips in a soul searing kiss.

* * *

Emily, Harrison, James, and the kids were all enjoying some hot chocolate, and chatting in the kitchen when suddenly Camille ran inside. James nearly choked on his drink when he locked eyes with her.

"I was wondering whose car was in our driveway" She exclaimed. "I thought you said you were spending the Holidays with your parents"

"Yeah there was a change of plans they uh… they are on a cruise so my brother, and his kids came to see me" He said nervously. Emily and Harrison exchanged a worried look.

"Well, I'm so glad you could come, I can see you have met my daughter and her husband… wait until you meet Olivia" James laughed nervously.

Emily thanked the heavens that her mom probably came in the house in such a rush, that she didn't catch a glimpse of the living room.

"Mom, I thought you guys were with the Johnson's"

"We were on our way, but you dad forgot to grab the pie, I'm so glad I came back. I'm happy you could join us, but you could have called so you knew we are out early. How come did you guys get up so early?" She asked her daughter.

"Uhh.. I was hungry" That seemed like a good enough reason for Camille.

"Perfect timing, so you could receive our guests… wait did your brother came with you?" James felt like he was sweating bullets.

"He…"

"He's in the bathroom" Harrison chimed in.

"Okay, I guess I'll meet him when we return, just make yourself at home. I better go before Richard get impatient" She was just finishing the sentence, when a loud voice filled the house.

"Camille, what is taking-" The voice suddenly went quiet, and Emily, James, and Harrison knew they were screwed.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE"

* * *

_**So things didn't go es planned, what else in new. Don't worry Fitz won't run for his life. I'm hoping to update soon, but I've been neglecting my other story for a long time so I'll probably work on that first. Please review :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**AN: I know it's been a while but I have been awfully busy. I hope I can update either this one, or my other scandal story sometime soon. The thing is, I'm still gonna be pretty busy until the beginning of January. I really do feel bad for leaving such long gaps between updates, but I swear I do my best. I hope you guys enjoy **_

* * *

Olivia and Fitz half talked half made out. They were so caught up in their bubble of happiness, that they didn't realize when Camille walked into the house. At some point she put her hands on his chest to stop him, earning a confused look from Fitz.

"Don't give me that look mister" She pointed her finger at him. "Come on" She took his hand and moved him almost outside the living room, and pointed up to the mistletoe hanging from the wooden trim at the entrance to the room.

"I saw this when I arrived yesterday, and I thought, If only Fitz was here, so he would kiss me right here, and now you are here" Fitz smiled broadly.

"Your wish is my command" He slowly lowered his face to hers, he gently touched her cheeks with his hands. He brushed his lips, against hers in a teasing manner. He started kissing her softly, but when she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, he was more than happy to comply. He moved his hands to her back to press her against him, and she threw her arms around his neck, and started running her hands through his hair.

In the middle of their passionate lip lock the front door opened again, and again they didn't realize it. It all happened too fast, when the sound of Richard's voice registered in their brains, they jumped back, but it was too late. He had already seen them. Fitz swallowed hard and looked down at his feet. He had his back to the door, and the look on Olivia's face made him scared to turn around.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE" Fitz knew he had to man up, and face her father.

He kept his face down as he moved to stand next to her, he held her hand, and finally looked up to her father. The shock on Richard's face was evident when he finally locked eyes with the man who was had been latched onto her daughter's face just moments earlier.

"Daddy…" Olivia said in a low voice.

They heard steps coming from the kitchen. Fitz was absolutely mortified.

"Richard what is going on?" Camille asked in a much calmer tone.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW" His voice boomed. Camille followed his gaze to the flustered face of the President.

"Are you… what is he…" She struggled to find the right words.

"Ma'am I'd like to introduce you to my brother… Fitz" James spoke anxiously. That got Richard's attention, he turned to look at James, then back at Fitz, then back at James.

"So this is your brother?" James nodded. "And may I ask why was your brother's tongue down my daughter's throat?"

"Your brother is the President" Camille exclaimed. "Wait what did you just say?" She turned to her husband.

"What you heard, I walked into the room to see him all over my daughter!" He nearly screamed.

"Dad" Liv said a little louder. All eyes where on her now. "I'm really sorry you had to see that, but I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend, President Fitzgerald Grant"

"Nice to meet you Sir" He extended his hand to her dad, half expecting to be left hanging, but instead her father gave him a finger crushing handshake.

"Ma'am" He shook Camille's hand.

"You are dating the President?" Olivia nodded "And he's your brother?" She asked James, and he nodded.

"What's with all the screaming?" Gabriel appeared on the stairs. His eyes landed on Fitz "Oh… he's here"

"Did you know about this?" Both his parents said at the same time.

"I might have heard something" He gulped not knowing why the situation seemed so tense.

"Why is everyone up so early?" Olivia's cousin Sarah appeared behind Gabriel."Is the President standing there or am I still asleep?" Sarah asked.

"He's really here" Gabriel answered.

"What did I miss?" She asked.

The situation was getting out of control. Richard was still very angry, Olivia was freaking out, Fitz felt like a deer in the headlights, and everyone else was confused. The sound of small feet running down the stairs broke the silence

"Are we opening gifts now?" 7 year old Caden asked, his twin brother Nathan standing next to him.

"Dad?" Jerry appeared behind his uncle. They had been told to stay at the kitchen, but with all the screaming, they felt the urge to see what was going on.

All the kids showing up brought Camille our of her shock, and she knew she had to do something before the situation escalated any further.

"Gabriel, please change your clothes, so you can go drop off the food to the Johnson's, tell them we'll visit later"

"Sarah please go back up, and make sure everyone is still asleep, or just keep them up there"

"Harrison take all the kids to the kitchen, and just eat anything, the chocolate muffins, and the gingerbread cookies are fresh from the oven"

"The rest of you let's go to the study because we need some explanations"

"No" Everyone turned to look at Richard.

"What do you mean no?" Camille's order's were never questioned.

"He comes with me" He pointed to Fitz.

Camille had wanted to get him to calm down before he had a chat with Fitz, but she realized that was a lost cause. She agreed, and Fitz followed Richard towards his office. Everyone looked worried, he felt like he was going into trial. After they were gone, everyone stood there frozen on the spot.

"What are you all waiting for, do as I said" She motioned for James, Emily, and Liv to follow her, while the rest carried on with their respective orders. Once they were in the study she closed the door, and had them sit on the couch. She pulled the chair from the desk, and sat in front of them. They felt like little children about to be scolded.

"So, James, my daughter is dating your brother, and here I was trying to get you to meet her" He started with him "Oh, and he's also the President"

"Sorry ma'am, I didn't even know he had a girlfriend until last Sunday, and he didn't say her name… and I just, I don't usually tell anyone he's my brother, it makes my life easier"

"Fair enough… Olivia" She was next "Were you planning on telling us your boyfriend was coming over? Or that you even had a boyfriend"

"Yes, mom I was gonna tell you I have a boyfriend. I was just waiting for the right moment, but I had no idea he was coming, he was supposed to be with his parents, but they went on a cruise, and he wanted to surprise me because it's our first Christmas" Olivia explained. Camille turned her eyes to James for confirmation.

"It's true our parents ditched us at the last minute, and he changed his plans because he wanted to surprise her"

"So Emily, I'm guessing you are behind all of this"

"In my defense, you weren't supposed to be home" She said. "He was supposed to have some time alone with Olivia, then we were going to wait for you guys to come back, and make proper introductions… and I had no idea you were trying to set Olivia up with his brother"

"Mom please go talk to dad, I asked him to kiss me under the mistletoe, and I was the one who… well… got things heated"

"Olivia you know that would be pointless. You know how things changed after… you know. And after he found you like that. He just worries about you, and he doesn't want to make the mistake of trusting a boyfriend of yours too soon" Olivia rolled her eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me, I'm worried too… another politician, really?"

"Mom you like him, you voted for him"

"Yes, but still… no offense James, but we are not big fans of politicians in this house, that's why I thought you were perfect for my daughter. You are doctor, you help people in need"

"Ma'am with all due respect, but he is my brother, we were raised the same. I vouch for him one hundred percent. I swear he's been my role model since always, he's the best guy I know"

"He had a pretty nasty divorce, and no one knows what happened"

"Well he doesn't, I mean didn't have the best taste in women, I'm sure you are great" He said to Olivia

"What do you mean?"

"I've said too much"

"Mom leave him alone, that is a very delicate topic"

"Fine" Camille dropped the subject.

The room was tense and Emily suggested Liv should tell the story of how they met. She figured that if her mom knew more about the relationship, she wouldn't be against it. They stayed in the study for a while, and Olivia told her mom, and James pretty much everything since thanksgiving. She made sure to tell him how great he was with Karen, and Jerry, how he had planned their dates, and all the other things they had done together.

* * *

Fitz couldn't get a word in. After they walked into the office Richard sat behind his desk, told Fitz to sit across from him, and started listing all the reasons why he thought Fitz was not the right man for his daughter. He started saying that it showed a total lack of respect to be all over his daughter like that at her parent's house. Fitz tried to apologize to no avail.

Then Richard went on to say he knew his kind, that his personal life seemed too complicated for her daughter to be in it. Then he added that he couldn't possibly be trusted, and that he would only bring chaos, and heartache to Olivia's life. By this point Fitz was also getting angry, but he knew that lashing out would only make things worse. He decided to just be quiet, and let her Dad get it all out.

"You seem to be good at your job, and I can respect that, but your personal life… I mean you already have a failed marriage under you belt, or will you tell me you are just a victim of the circumstances" Richard said.

"No sir, I'm not. No one is perfect, we both made mistakes, and in the end we just thought it was the best for the kids." Fitz thought that telling the truth might backfire, since it could make him look like he was trying to play the victim card.

"How long has this being going on?" Richard asked.

"We met on thanksgiving" Fitz replied.

"Well it hasn't being long, you can still leave without causing much damage" He said like it wasn't a big deal. At that moment Fitz had a hard time keeping his cool.

"With all due respect, but I'm not going anywhere unless she wants me to" He said as calm as he could. "I would never do anything to hurt her, I… I care about you daughter a lot"

"You could have anyone else, just leave my daughter alone"

"Yes, but I don't want anyone else. Sir when I say I'm not going anywhere I mean it. I'm in this for the long run, maybe it's too soon to say it, but I want to marry her someday. I want us to be a family, and I have no interest in doing that with any other woman" That left Richard momentarily quiet.

"I don't trust you"

"I know we didn't meet under the best circumstances, but my intentions are honorable, just give me the benefit of the doubt"

"To me you are all the same, and after that asshole… She is my little girl, and you can't be trustworthy"

"And it seems there's nothing I can do right now to change your mind"

"No there's not"

"I guess only time will tell, I'll show you how trustworthy I can be"

Richard had to respect the fact that Fitz wasn't backing down, and that he didn't yell back. He never thought he'd be talking to the President like that, but in that office he was only the man his daughter was dating. Still after he was done with his first rant, he half expected the secret service to arrest him. There was a knock on the door, and Camille poked her head inside. She asked Richard to come out for a moment.

"What is going on it's been too long, you know he is the President, and I wouldn't want you to get arrested on Christmas" She said in a hushed tone.

"You know why I'm doing this, and you didn't see them it was awful"

"Look, that man clearly went through a lot of trouble to be here today, your daughter will be very upset if you aren't at least polite towards him. Richard we liked him before we knew all this, and he is James' brother. Your daughter looks happier than ever, so we are going to give him a chance"

Richard mumbled something that sounded like he agreed.

"What was that?" Camille asked.

"I said all right, I will try" He said louder.

"No, you will not try, you will be nice. Now go get the poor man so we can all sit for some hot cocoa, and cookies" She gave her final order, and went back to the kitchen with everyone else.

Richard walked into the kitchen with Fitz in tow, Olivia turned to him with concern written all over her face. She half expected him to take his kids, brother, and run in the opposite direction. But that did not happen, Fitz gave her a sheepish smile before checking in on Karen and Jerry. The kids seemed to be having a good time.

Even though the twins were a little bit younger they were getting along really well with Karen, and Jerry. They were all talking about how excited they were to open their gifts. Olivia knew everyone else would be up anytime, and she wanted to talk to Fitz. Camille said she'd be the one in charge of preparing the rest of the family for the surprise. Richard was watching them like a hawk, and she didn't want to upset him even more.

"Dad" She went over to him. "I'm really sorry you had to see that… I had just missed him a lot, and the surprise… He's a good man, please just give him a chance"

Richard took a deep breath before he answered.

"I'm just worried about you, but I promise, I'll be on my best behavior" He finally smiled, and they hugged.

Camille knew that Olivia really wanted to have a moment alone with Fitz to recover from the shock, but she also realized her husband wasn't giving them a break. So she dragged him away from the kitchen saying that she needed to get something from the basement. It would only buy Olivia about five minutes, but it was better than nothing.

Olivia locked eyes with Fitz before stepping out of the kitchen, he excused himself, and followed her out. For a moment they just looked at each other in awkward silence. She tried to apologize, but he stopped her. He saw how distressed she was, and his first reaction was to hug her like their lives depended on it. She finally released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"It's fine sweetheart, I'll win him over eventually"

"How bad was he" She asked.

"Well, he didn't kick me out of the house so it could have been worse" he chuckled.

They just held each other for a couple of minutes, while he calmed her down telling her that they would be just fine, and that her family just needed some time. He was beginning to feel guilty because it was his idea to just barge in like that. He knew that she was planning to wait a bit longer before she told them.

He didn't have much time to dwell on it though, because his kids came looking for him asking if they could go on with the gift opening. They were also upset because he hadn't let them stay in their pajamas, and the twins would be wearing theirs all day because it was their tradition. Olivia almost told them that was part of the gift she got for them, but stopped when she remembered she had left them in DC.

What she didn't know was that Emily had thought of everything. While James, and Fitz carried the presents inside, she pulled Olivia out of the kitchen again, and told her she had it all figured out. They wen't to Emily's room, and Olivia was quite surprised when she saw her sister pulling out the gifts from the closet.

"I knew you would be mortified if you had nothing to give them when they showed up, so I just took this from your place on Saturday"

"You broke into my place"

"I have a key"

"Yes, for emergencies"

"And this seemed like an emergency, just imagine them walking in here all excited, only to find no gifts, so I packed their gifts, and I took the liberty of getting him a tacky sweater. He couldn't be the only one without it"

"You are the best sister in the universe, thank you" Olivia hugged her sister, and then the two of them went to join everyone else in the living room.

Liv took the packages that contained the pajamas, and told Karen, and Jerry they could open those right away. She told them that new pj's for the kids was also a tradition in her family, and they were really excited to not be left out. Emily took them to her room so they could change right away, while Olivia gave Fitz the tacky sweater. He let out a good laugh when he saw the giant reindeer head in the middle, but he happily took of his boring navy blue sweater to put on the other one.

Camille, and Richard had been back from the basement for a little while, but she stopped her husband from hovering over them again. She told him that they could watch from afar a little bit, just to better assess the situation. Camille just wanted him to see how happy she looked when she wasn't worried that her father wanted to kill her boyfriend. Richard saw how he acted around his kids, and how well he got along with his brother, and with Harrison.

He had to admit that the President seemed like a good man, but he also knew that first impressions could be deceiving. He had his mind set on disliking Fitz, that was until Olivia returned to the room with the gifts. Richard saw how comfortable she looked around his kids, and how much they seemed to care for her. Then when he saw her give him the ridiculous sweater, and how eagerly he put it on his resolve began to waver.

"Go see if you parents are up, and I'll go get my sister and the rest" Camille told her husband.

They went upstairs together, and agreed to gather everyone in the hallway before going downstairs to tell them they had some unexpected visitors.

Fitz sat on the couch with Olivia, and he asked her how they managed to have that many people sleeping there. He told her how he thought it was hard enough for James to have him, his kids, and the agents, even though the house had 4 bedrooms, and a tv room. She told him that they had 5, her parents, one for each of the siblings, and a guest room.

Her grandparents, and aunt were staying in the guest room because it had a bed, and a sofa bed. Emily kept her room because she was pregnant, her cousin and his wife had her room, her parents also kept theirs, and all the rest of them were in Gabriel's room.

"There's still a bunk bed in that room, my cousin, and I sleep in the beds, and Gabriel, and the twins got the floor."

"Wow"

"Yeah, the twins could be in the floor with their parents, but they prefer to stay with the cool aunts, and uncle. We've been doing things like this since forever, it's kinda fun"

"I bet"

* * *

Richard, and Camille ended up gathering everyone in the guest room. They were all confused because they wouldn't say anything until everyone was there. No one understood what was the big deal about the "unexpected guests". Once they were all together Camille dropped the bomb, and it took a few moments to sink in.

"You mean to tell us my cousin is dating the President, our President? President Grant?" Cousin Jonah asked.

"The one and only" She replied.

"How did that happen?" Grandpa Tom asked.

"It was because of her job" Richard gave him the short answer.

"Are you sure it's her boyfriend, what if he's just lost" Aunt Lois asked

"Also are you sure it's him?" Jonah's wife, Rachel, asked.

"Unfortunately I saw proof of the fact they are a couple, and yes we are sure its him, we've known his brother for a while now, though we didn't know" Richard said.

"Well, it was about damn time, and I applaud her choice" Finally grandma Josie spoke.

"Mom!" Richard said disapprovingly.

"You have to let go of those grudges son, that other asshole she dated was always a stuck up moron, and we all knew it, we just accepted him because she said she loved him, and he seemed to care for her. I think President Grant is a good man, and I'm barely ever wrong. Now let me change so we can go meet the man"

Everyone just stood there for a moment knowing there wasn't much to be said after that. Grandma saw no one was moving and motioned with her hand for them to leave. She shoed them all out of the room, and sent them to get presentable enough to meet with the President. Camille samiled and mouther a thank you to her mother-in-law before she dragged a grumpy Richard out of the room. Once they had all changed out of their pajamas, they made a beeline down the stairs, and got ready to finally meet Olivia's new boyfriend.

* * *

_**AN2: So the whole family is about to meet President boyfriend. Next chapter will be about that, and them spending Christmas day as a family. Things might not be so easy, but they are willing to make the best of it. Please review :)**_


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